For 2017-18, the Gujarat government allocated 14.1 per cent of the total budget for education, which declined marginally to 13.9 per cent in the 2018-19 Budget estimates
Gujarat government's expenditure on key sectors such as education and health is much lower than a number of other states, a report by PRS Legislative Research said on Thursday.
For 2017-18, the Gujarat government allocated 14.1 per cent of the total budget for education, which declined marginally to 13.9 per cent in the 2018-19 Budget estimates. The report said that the average allocation of the 19 states (the states surveyed by the research group) for education in 2017-18 was 16.1 per cent more than Gujarat.
The state government has earmarked 4 per cent of the revised budget for 2017-18, and 4.5 per cent of the 2018-19 Budget for spending on health, which is again lower than the average 4.8 per cent of the19 states for 2017-18.
In addition to Gujarat, the analysis covered Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. While some of the states had allocated less than Gujarat, most had earmarked more.
For agriculture, a crisis-hit sector, the state government had spent 3.9 per cent of the budget in 2017-18. The provision has fallen to 3.3 per cent in the 2018-19 Budget. The PRS analysis states that the 19 states allocated 6.4 per cent of the total funds for agriculture in the current year.
The same happened with regard to rural development. The analysis shows that Gujarat allocated 3 per cent of its budget for rural development in the revised estimates of 2017-18 and also the budget estimates for 2018-19. As against this, the average of the 19 states for 2017-18 was nearly double, at 5.6 per cent.
Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel announced on Tuesday that the size of the budget for 2018-19 has gone up to Rs1.83 lakh crore as compared to Rs1.72 lakh crore in 2017-18. A large chunk of the budget allocation went to social sectors, but a closer look reveals a mixed bag for various sectors.
The PRS analysis shows that the 2018-19 allocation for education went up by 1.70 per cent. The allocation was Rs 25,706 crore in the revised estimates of 2017-18, and the government earmarked Rs 25,270 crore for it in 2018-19.
The allocation for health and family welfare department rose by nearly 12 per cent to Rs 8,172 crore, while that of agriculture and farmers' welfare fell by 16 per cent to Rs 5,990 crore. The budget for panchayat and rural development also declined marginally over 2017-18.
According to the budget projects, the total expenditure in 2018-19 is pegged at Rs1.82 lakh crore, which is 8.6 per cent higher than the revised estimates of Rs 1.67 lakh crore for 2017-18.
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For agriculture, a crisis-hit sector, the state government had spent 3.9 per cent of the budget in 2017-18. The provision has fallen to 3.3 per cent in the 2018-19 Budget. The PRS analysis states that the 19 states allocated 6.4 per cent of the total funds for agriculture in the current year.
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