Today the country’s budget (Union Budget 2024) is going to come and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present it in Parliament at 11 am. Among the issues on which discussions were intense before the budget, Chandrababu Naidu, who emerged as the kingmaker in the new NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the demand for special status to Nitish Kumar’s states Andhra Pradesh and Bihar and the 8th Pay Commission. Up to the recommendation of. But before the budget, the government has tightened its coffers and has said ‘no’ to all these three demands.
Shock to Bihar before the budget
First of all, let’s talk about the demand of special category status for Bihar by Nitish Kumar’s JDU, BJP’s main ally in the PM Modi-led NDA Govt, to which Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Choudhary gave a written reply on the first day of the budget session. Giving has made the picture clear. He said in a written reply that according to the 2012 report of the Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG), special status cannot be given to Bihar.
In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on the first day of the budget session, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said that special category status was earlier given to some states by the National Development Council (NDC), which had many such characteristics. States that can be given special category status include hilly terrain, low population density or a large proportion of tribal population, economic and infrastructure backwardness, among other factors. Pankaj Minister said that the provisions which have to be fulfilled for special state status are not there in Bihar.
Andhra backed away from the demand for special state!
Earlier, according to a report published on Business Today, Chandrababu Naidu’s party TDP had sent its 3 biggest demands to the Finance Ministry before the budget. The demands placed in Chandrababu Wish List. The first of these is that there should be budgetary grants especially for the other backward districts of the state including Anantapur, Chittoor, Cuddapah, Kurnool, Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram. After this, the demand for financial help for the second Amaravati and timely release of money for the third Polavaram Irrigation Project is included.
However, meanwhile, TDP General Secretary and Andhra Pradesh Human Resource Development and IT Minister Nara Lokesh had said that there is nothing unexpected in these demands, but only to fulfill the promises necessary to accelerate the growth of the state. Are. This report also states that Chandrababu Naidu’s party TDP is busy pressurizing for various funds and projects, but has reportedly decided not to press for special status for Andhra Pradesh. , which is a significant change from his earlier stance.
No proposal for 8th Pay Commission
On the first day of the budget session which started on July 22, the government has clarified the picture on another major issue. Yes, we are talking about the 8th Pay Commission, so let us tell you that there is no proposal to constitute the 8th Central Pay Commission to amend the salaries and pensions of central government employees. In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said that two recommendations were received for the formation of the 8th Central Pay Commission in June 2024, but at present no such proposal is under consideration with the government.