Deputy Chief Minister Jagdish Deora has said that the economy of Madhya Pradesh is moving forward dynamically.

Capital expenditure is continuously increasing. Strategies are being designed to maintain the pace of infrastructural development.

Deora was addressing a pre-budget dialogue session at the Academy of Administration here today. With an objective of making the budget of Madhya Pradesh as expected by the people and fulfilling their development plans, suggestions for budget formulation have been invited from all sectors of the society. The tradition of pre-budget dialogue session was started on the initiative of Deora.

Principal Secretary Finance Manish Singh, Secretary Finance Ajit Kumar, Deputy Secretary Rajeev Ranjan Meena, Director Budget Bakki Karthikeon, Deputy Secretary Frank Nobel and officials of the Finance Department were present.

Addressing the dialogue session, Deora said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has set a target of raising the country’s economy to 5 trillion dollars.

To achieve this, participation of all states is a pre-requisite. This will further strengthen States economy. Cooperation of every citizen is required.

Deora has sought expert suggestions to further strengthen the energy sector. He said that dynamic Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman getting the responsibility of Finance Ministry is a good sign for the state.

The financial management of Madhya Pradesh has improved due to the guidance received from him from time to time.

Experts and representatives of different sections participating in the dialogue session gave useful suggestions for the budget making of Madhya Pradesh.

Hemant Soni, General Manager, Reserve Bank of India highlighted the need to focus on climate risks, adequate storage space, financial and digital literacy for farmers and students.

There is a need to create infrastructure at the cluster level. The budget provision should be increased.

Nandu J. Naik Deputy General Manager NABARD expressed the need to focus on irrigation. There is a need to increase horticulture and micro irrigation, import market. Logistics and corporate sector also need attention. Also, small groups of farmers should be formed.

Pro. C. Pratap Ranjan Jaina National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi suggested increasing capital expenditure in various sectors. He said investment in the key sectors need to be increased for boosting the GDP.

Sushri Kanta Singh, Deputy Country Representative UN Women India said that Madhya Pradesh has done a good work by having seperat gender budget. More funds should be given for safety of women and care, welding economics.

Sushri Hyun Hee Ben Chief Social Policy UNICEF India praised Madhya Pradesh and said that it has done a good work for the empowerment of women. More budget is needed for the development of children. Climate change also needs attention.

Pro. Siddharth Chaturvedi, Ex-Chairman, CII said that the government should consider subsidy on stamp duty for the industry. There should be provision for additional funds for technology development in service sector, textile, roads, logistics, airport development, drone services, solar energy, defence, electronic vehicles. Along with this, consideration should be given to start-ups for women, making separate arrangements for women in the health sector, research in the field of education and linking skills with IT.

Pro. Yogesh Dubey, Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal stressed the need to make separate budget for forests and water according to the environment. Wildlife, environment and climate change should be kept in mind. There will be a need to focus on water management, cleaning of rivers, Madhya Pradesh tourism, village tourism for tribal welfare and plantation at that place after forest fire.

K.V. Pratap Senior Economic Advisor, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India suggested that additional budget would be required for investment in various sectors of infrastructure.

Director Finance Bakki Karthikeon said in his vote of thanks that the suggestions given by the experts will be considered.