During his second visit within a week to the state of Tripura that is going to the polls on 16 February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a fervent pitch to the people of the state to choose development, extoling the virtues of a double-engine government. “There is no family in Tripura that has not been benefitted by BJP policies,” he said at a rally in the state capital, Agartala, on 13 February. The party manifesto is a heady mix of freebies and promise of development. BJP’s top leadership has been camping in the state for over two weeks now.
On offer are scooties/cycles for female students, collateral-free bank loans, Rs 50,000 bond on birth of girl child, smartphones to 50,000 meritorious college-going students, the promise to build and upgrade infrastructure worth Rs 1,600 crore, and to attract investment worth Rs 50,000 crore into the state in the next five years.
“Under BJP regime, Tripura got Buddhist university, National Forensic Sciences University, dental college and cancer hospital. We are trying to turn Tripura to become a business hub,” Modi added.
On February 11, the Prime Minister had addressed rallies in Ambassa and Radhakishorepur as well.
Ease of doing business low, BJP to bring investments
Stating that the BJP is committed to turning Tripura into a major and vibrant economy, the party said it will strive to attract investments of around Rs 50,000 crore to Tripura in the next five years.
It also said that it will provide 33 percent reservation in all Government jobs for women, while also launching a Government Recruitment Calendar to ensure a time-bound recruitment process for all government jobs.
However, the ease of doing business in the state is one of the lowest in the country, ranked 29 by RBI in 2019.
Infrastructure upgrades promised
Infrastructure development, including upgradation and modernisation of roads in the state, worth Rs 1,000 crore in the next five years, and development of rural infrastructure through investment of Rs 600 crore have also been included in the list of poll promises.
However, as per RBI data, Tripura was among the states to have spent the least amount of funds on Capital Expenditure, with a Budget estimate of Rs 2,651 crore in 2021-22, higher only in comparison to Puducherry, Sikkim, and Mizoram’s budgets.
BJP’s bid to return to power
Leaving no stone unturned in its bid to return to power, the party has made a slew of promises to all groups of voters. The 60-page manifesto includes welfare measures for all sections ― from tribals to women, senior citizens to school students, and tax payers to farmers.
Provision of two free LPG cylinders to all beneficiaries of PM Ujjwala Yojana, free rice and wheat to all PDS beneficiaries every month, along with edible oil four times a year at subsidised rates through PDS, affordable houses to all registered beneficiaries under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Gramin and Urban by 2025, drinking water connections to all houses under Jal Jeevan Mission by 2024, doubling the annual cap for each family from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh under Ayushman Bharat are also included in the manifesto.
Freebies such as scooties for all ‘female college-going meritorious students’, and smartphones to around 50,000 meritorious college-going students have also found place in the manifesto.
Collateral-free loans from banks up to Rs 10 lakh under the Tripura Student Credit Card Scheme for students pursuing higher education from high-ranking NIRF institutions, a special package, including subsidised train travel, lodging and allowance to Deoghar in Jharkhand and Gorakhnath in Uttar Pradesh is also part of the manifesto. Tirtha Yojana for Senior Citizens and sponsored subsidised train travel, lodging and allowance to Ayodhya, Varanasi, Kailash Mansarovar, Vaishno Devi, Tirupati, and Ujjain, among other places, is also added in the manifesto.
Tribal welfare is key focus area
One of the key focus areas of the manifesto is providing greater autonomy to Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC). The manifesto also promises financial assistance to the tribal people of the state.
For the welfare of tribals in the state, the manifesto has promised annual financial assistance of Rs 5,000 to each tribal family under Tripura Janajati Bikash Yojana.
It has promised to increase the honorarium from Rs 2,000 per month to Rs 5,000 per month for its village-level community headmen. “We will launch the Tribal Development Mission 2023 to ensure the development of tribes at par with the national average in the next 10 years,” BJP has said in its manifesto.
Rs 50 crore will be invested to launch an education mission to provide financial assistance for the modernisation and upgradation of government schools within the TTAADC.
Bridging the gender gap
To bridge the gender gap and to provide economic parity, a Balika Somriddhi Scheme will be launched. Under this scheme, at the birth of every girl child in families belonging to financially weaker sections, the government will provide a bond worth Rs 50,000.
A scheme to provide periodic financial assistance of Rs 25,000 to female students from financially weaker sections is proposed. Here, students of Class 8 would be given Rs 5,000, those from Class 10 would get Rs 8,000 and Class 12 would get Rs 12,000.
All existing girls’ hostels will be upgraded and modernised to encourage female students to pursue higher education.
While over 50,000 bicycles have been promised to female students of classes 9 and 10, the BJP has said that it will further expand the initiative to provide bicycles to all girls who have passed Class 5.
The party has said it will launch a State Talent Search Scheme to provide world-class training and one-time financial assistance of up to Rs 5 lakh to selected female athletes to promote women in sports.
Agricultural schemes
Agriculture is a primary sector of the economy of Tripura. More than 75 percent of the state’s total workforce is dependent on agriculture for their subsistence. In fact, about 24.3 percent of the state’s net area is reserved for agricultural purposes, of which, about 2.5 lakh hectares fall under the net cultivated area.
Farmers have been assured a hike in financial assistance from Rs 6,000 to Rs 8,000 annually under PM Kisan Yojana and another annual financial assistance of Rs 3,000 to all landless farmers under Bhumihin Kisan Vikas Yojana.
Paddy procurement under MSP has been promised to be doubled to 50,000 MT annually.
“We will invest Rs 1,000 crore to develop holistic agri-infrastructure of collection and primary processing centres. We will invest Rs 200 crore in the Tripura Commercial Crop Mission to promote processing units for agar, bamboo, and rubber, among others,” the BJP has said.
An ‘Agarbatti Mission’ with an investment of Rs 50 crore will also be implemented to modernise the agar industry of Tripura, along with the establishment of an Indian Institute of Bamboo Technology to further enhance the knowledge base and promote sustainable utilisation of bamboo.
Fiscal deficit at 5.7% of state GDP; outstanding liabilities at 36.4%
Meanwhile, as per the state’s Budget estimates for 2021-22, it had a fiscal deficit of Rs 3,680 crore last year, amounting to 5.7 percent of the state’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Under the FRBM Act, the Centre and states were initially mandated to reduce their fiscal deficit to 3 percent of GDP. However, in early 2009, the FRBM Act's targets were suspended after the global financial crisis. The target has again been re-adjusted in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, to 3.5 percent for next year, as announced by the Finance Minister in the Union Budget for FY2023-24.
As per Reserve Bank of India data, the Tripura government had outstanding liabilities of Rs 23,625 crore at the end of 2021-22. This equals 36.4 percent of the state’s GDP for the year.
However, Tripura’s state GDP grew at 8.7 percent in 2021-22, compared to a contraction of 2.2 percent in 2020-21, as per RBI data.
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