Union Budget: Job guarantee scheme outlay flat at Rs 86k crore, rural housing gets Rs 54k crore, little over FY25

This year, the allocation of MG-NREGS is little arsenic compared to the existent expenditure of Rs 89,153 crore during fiscal twelvemonth 2023-24.

Reversing the caller trends of allocating lesser outlay successful fund arsenic compared to erstwhile year’s revised estimates (RE), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had provided Rs 86,000 crore for the MG-NREGS for fiscal twelvemonth 2024-25 successful her fund past year. However, this higher allocation came during the canvass year, which saw wide elections to the Lok Sabha and elections to respective authorities assemblies.

The NREGS is simply a demand-driven scheme, and the authorities tin allocate further amounts required astatine immoderate clip done supplementary demands of grants. However, a little outlay successful the wide fund sends signals affecting sentiment connected the ground. Therefore, a higher allocation successful the fund whitethorn nonstop affirmative signals to states and districts.

For PMAY-G, the Finance Minister has allocated Rs 54,831.99 crore for the fiscal twelvemonth 2025-26, which is simply a small implicit to the existent fiscal year’s BE of Rs 54,500.13 crore. This comes aft agrarian lodging saw a monolithic chopped of 36.83% astatine the RE signifier during the existent fiscal twelvemonth (2024-25).

In the Union Budget 2024-25 presented successful July past year, the authorities had allocated Rs 54,500.13 crore for the PMAY-G, but it was revised downward to 32,426.32 crore successful the RE—a chopped of 36.83%.

However, an allocation of Rs 54,831.99 crore has been made for the PMAY-G for the fiscal twelvemonth 2025-26, which is simply a small implicit arsenic compared to the past year’s fund estimates (BE) but a important leap (69%) implicit the RE.

Sources accidental that the chopped successful the PMAY-G fund astatine the RE signifier was owed to a hold successful the support of the adjacent signifier of the strategy aft the wide elections and a hold successful the merchandise of funds to respective states.

Launched successful April 2016, the PMAY-G aimed astatine constructing 2.95 crore houses successful agrarian areas. However, aft the Modi authorities voted backmost to powerfulness successful June past year, it extended the strategy till fiscal 2028-29 and acceptable a people of operation of different 2 crore agrarian houses.

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