KCR hints at populist Budget, attractive PRC, Asara pension, new ration cards likely

Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao hinted that a populist Budget would be presented tomorrow for the financial year 2021-22 the Legislative Assembly on Thursday.

Replying to the motion of thanks to the Governor’s address in the Assembly on Wednesday, Chandrashekar Rao said that the government would announce an ‘attractive and respectable’ PRC for state government employees, for which required funds would be allocated in the Budget.

“I will myself make a statement on the new PRC in two or three days in the Assembly. Although the state government suffered severe financial losses due to the Coronavirus pandemic, we are committed to the welfare of employees. We showed our commitment towards employees earlier by extending 43 per cent PRC fitment in 2015. This time too, we will give a respectable PRC,” Mr Rao said.

The Chief Minister hinted at announcing a new financial assistance scheme in the Budget for the empowerment of Dalits, the sanction of new Aasara pensions by reducing the age limit and sanctioning of new ration cards. He said finer details will be divulged by finance minister T. Harish Rao in his budget speech.

Mr Rao also hinted at allocating funds in the Budget for the implementation of the Rs 1 lakh crop loan waiver scheme, a major poll promise of the TRS in the run-up to the 2018 Assembly polls.

However, extending an unemployment allowance of Rs 3,016 per month for unemployed youth is expected to take some time, going by his remarks.

Rao further said that the government was yet to frame guidelines over who should be defined as “unemployed”. Though funds may be sanctioned for this scheme in the budget, its implementation might take some more time, he added.