Rs 75,000 Crore Interest-Free Loan to States for 'Viksit Bharat'

New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) The Union government will provide Rs 75,000 crore as interest-free loan for 50 years to support reforms by states for realising the vision of 'Viksit Bharat'.

The government has set a vision to make India a developed nation by 2047.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made the proposal in this regard in her Budget speech in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

Many growth and development enabling reforms are needed in states for realizing the vision of 'Viksit Bharat', she said.

"A provision of seventy-five thousand crore rupees as fifty-year interest-free loan is proposed this year to support those milestone-linked reforms by the state governments," the minister said.

Union minister of cooperation and home affairs Amit Shah said the fresh funding to states will be a game changer in fortifying relations between the Centre and sates.

"The decision to provide a total of ?75,000 crore interest-free loans to the states for the next five decades will prove a game changer in fortifying centre-state relations. It will also ensure that no region is left behind in the great Bharat that Modi Ji has envisioned," Shah said in a post of X.

According to the Budget documents, total resources being transferred to the states, including the devolution of states' share, grants/loans and releases under centrally sponsored schemes in 2024-25 (Budget Estimates), stand at Rs 22,22,264 crore.

This is an increase of Rs 4,13,848 crore over actuals of fiscal year 2022-23.

Sitharaman said the Modi government is working with an approach to development that is all-round, all-pervasive and all-inclusive.

"It covers all castes and people at all levels. We are working to make India a 'Viksit Bharat' by 2047. For achieving that goal, we need to improve people's capability and empower them," she said.

The finance minister said the vision for 'Viksit Bharat' is that of a prosperous Bharat in harmony with nature, with modern infrastructure, and providing opportunities for all citizens and all regions to reach their potential.

She also said in the full budget in July, "our government will present a detailed roadmap for our pursuit of 'Viksit Bharat'".