In her seventh consecutive Union Budget 2024 presentation on July 23, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the Centre will come up with a plan, ‘Purvodaya’, for the all-round development of five states in the eastern region, including Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.
The FM said that the Centre will focus on capturing the rich cultural traditions to transform the region into economic hubs in a bid to fasten the government’s aim of ‘Viksit Bharat’.
“The states in the Eastern part of the country are rich in endowments and have strong cultural traditions,” Sitharaman said during her Budget speech in the Parliament.
What is the Purvodaya scheme?
While announcing the scheme, the Finance Minister said that the ‘Purvodaya’ plan will cover human resource development, infrastructure, and generation of economic opportunities in the eastern region of the country.
Notably, how the five states qualified for the scheme, and why only these five states remain unclear.
And the idea is not new either. According to a report in The Times of India, the ‘Purvodaya’ concept was publically announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015, during a meeting in Paradip, Odisha after dedicating an oil refinery to the Indian Oil Corporation Limited back then. Additionally, he said that for India to become a developed nation, the eastern parts of the country need to develop.
Of the five states, the government laid special emphasis on Bihar, proposing Rs 26,000 crore for various road projects. The Finance Minister also said that the government will set up airports, medical colleges and sports infrastructure in the state.
Funds for Amravati, women’s schemes
Sitharaman also announced Rs 15,000 crore for the development of Amravati as Andhra Pradesh’s capital. “Money to be raised from multilateral funding agencies and routed through the Centre,” she said.
Besides, the Centre allocated over Rs 3 lakh crore for schemes benefiting women and girls and stated that it is fully committed to the completion and financing of the Polavaram irrigation project.
However, the Finance Minister’s speech did it figure any specific plans or announcements for the other three states to be covered under the Purvodaya scheme.
Purvodaya scheme to benefit the eastern region
Prime Minister Modi hailed Sitharaman’s announcement and said that the development of the country’s eastern region will get new momentum and energy through the ‘Purvodaya’ plan.
Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the scheme will provide a new boost to the development of the eastern region. “This scheme will give new energy to infrastructure, human resources, employment and economic development opportunities in these regions and these regions will play an important role in building a developed and self-reliant India,” he said.
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