Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget on 23 Jul. Sitharaman met the demands of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partner political parties that have supported BJP to form the govt. To please the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Janata Dal United (JDU) chiefs Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar, Sitharaman announced special packages for Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. Sitharaman announced $1.8B for Andhra Pradesh's new capital in her speech, adding that the govt. is committed to financing and completing the Polavaram irrigation project. Additional allocations will be provided this year to support capital investment for economic growth. Similarly, Sitharaman said that the request from the Bihar govt. for external assistance from multilateral development banks will be expedited. Close on the heels of the union govt. ruling out any plan to grant Bihar a Special Category Status – a longstanding demand of the JDU because the Indian Constitution does not allow it – Sitharaman announced multiple development projects for the state. In Chandigarh, upon a visit by Arvind Panagariya, from the 16th Finance Commission on 22 Jul, Panjab CM Bhagwant Singh Mann sought a special package of $15.7B, asserting that the border state, which is also the ‘bread basket of India,’ should be rewarded for its immense contribution in making the country self-sufficient in food production, and for obtaining and preserving independence. Citing legacy debt, narco-terrorism, and declining underground water table, he also demanded that the states should get 50% of taxes collected by the union govt. as their share, instead of 41% at present. However, in the budget, Panjab drew a blank as far as special packages are concerned.
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