SHILLONG, July 23: The state government has hailed the Union budget, terming it as growth-oriented with special focus on employment creation and skill development pivoted around the four “castes” – “Garib” (poor), “Mahila” (women), “Yuva” (youth) and “Annadata” (farmers).
The Joint Secretary of Finance department, in a statement on Tuesday, said the budget’s nine priority areas such as productivity and resilience in agriculture, employment and skilling, inclusive human resources development and social justice, manufacturing services, urban development, energy security, infrastructure, innovation, research & development and next generation reforms are aligned to Meghalaya’s Mission 10 and they will provide the much-required impetus to the state’s growth.
The department said the increase in outlay of special assistance to the states for capital investments, which provides 50 years’ interest-free loans from Rs 1.3 lakh crore to Rs 1.5 lakh crore, in this budget is a positive development for Meghalaya, for it will accelerate infrastructure development in the state.
“In 2023-24, we utilised more than Rs 1,300 crore under this scheme,” the Joint Secretary said.
The Joint Secretary also stated that the incentives announced for first-time employees (one-month salary up to Rs 15,000 in 3 installments under DBT mode) based on EPFO registration can be dovetailed with the Meghalaya Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy (MIIPP), 2024 to ensure industrial development and accelerated job creation in Meghalaya.
The extension of credit guarantee scheme to provide guarantee up to Rs 100 crore for MSMEs will complement MIIPP, 2024 and provide the much-required capital to the state’s young and aspiring entrepreneurs, the Joint Secretary said.
According to the government, as the budget announced Industrial Parks in 100 cities, Meghalaya will leverage this opportunity to create world-class industrial parks.
The government also said that the Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan scheme will be leveraged to saturate all the schemes in Meghalaya, and all the villages in the state will be eligible for coverage under this programme.
“The setting up of 100 branches in the Northeast by Indian Posts and Payments Bank will improve the banking coverage in our state. The state will leave no stone unturned to ensure that Meghalaya gets a good number of these new branches,” the Joint Secretary said.
The Joint Secretary added that the one-year internship scheme announced in the budget will help job seekers in Meghalaya to gain valuable experience from top companies. The interns will get a monthly allowance of Rs 5,000 for a year and a one-time allowance of Rs 6,000.
The government said the increased focus on agriculture, especially natural farming, will help Meghalaya as it is one of the first states in the Northeast to adopt natural farming.
