Check What Odisha Expects From The Union Budget

Paperless Budget: Like last year, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman carried the Union Budget 2022-23 in a tablet with a red sleeve and the national emblem embossed on it. (Photo/Twitter)

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government is expecting increased funding for key sectors such as railways, roads, telecom and power from the Union Budget 2022-23.

Odisha’s Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari placed the demands of the state with the Centre during a pre-Budget consultation with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Some of the state’s key expectations from the Budget are:

* Rs 25,000 crore for disaster-resilient power infrastructure in cyclone-prone coastal areas of the state.

* Rs 900 crore for 1,000 mobile towers to improve connectivity in remote areas.

* Rs 7,600 crore to develop railway infrastructure with emphasis on improving connectivity to ports, mining belts and tribal districts.

* A second AIIMS in Odisha. The state has proposed to the Centre to establish a second AIIMS in Sundargarh district.

* Industries, medium and small enterprises and real estate developers are expecting relief in terms of easy access to funds and loans, more subsidies, rebates in direct and indirect taxes and GST cuts.