Budget 2013-14 Made in Gujarat, for India

Narendra Modi says it's better than Union budget since 65% of its share is earmarked for development.

The Rs 1,14,450-crore Gujarat budget for financial year 2013-2014 proposed by Finance Minister Nitin Patel in the state assembly Wednesday, the first of Chief Minister Narendra Modi's newly-elected government, sought to tell the Gujarat growth story vis-a-vis India's and achieve the five-year dream in the first year itself. As Modi put it in a release, "The new budget for 2013-14 would build new confidence among people and showcase state's potentialities before the world."Focussed mainly on youth, farmers and children, it announced new missions and schemes, referring to India as one of "the youngest nations across the globe". The budget announced skill development corporations, new schools and foreign language courses to be taken up by the education department. A press statement by Modi said, "Even as the Central government earmarks just 35 per cent of the Union Budget for development work, the Gujarat government spends as much as 65 per cent of the state Budget on development work." Talking about Gujarat contributing a lion's share in the nation's development, Modi said, "Although the state government was elected for a five-year term, it resolves to fulfil the people's aspirations from the very first year itself. Although Gujarat's contribution to the nation during the Twelfth Five Year Plan has begun in the outgoing financial year, the state government proposes to take Gujarat to greater heights, contributing a lion's share to the nation's development as well, for a prosperous future."

While Patel's budget speech termed malnutrition as a "national problem today", the chief minister's statement added that "the new budget would also handsomely contribute to women's empowerment and their welfare, to healthcare and to create awareness against malnutrition".

So there is the mission "Balam Sukham" for which the government has allocated Rs 24 crore "for improving the status of nutrition". This is besides Rs 1,094 crore allocated under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS).

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