IIT for sure, AIIMS comes a cropper
Close on the heels of the raw deal in the Railway budget, the State’s wish list for the maiden Union Budget of the Narendra Modi government has largely been ignored.
The only solace is that an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) has been sanctioned for Kerala, along with four other States, after a delay of several years.
The State has failed to find a place on the list of four All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Two land banks in the capital had been shortlisted for AIIMS.
It is not known whether the State will benefit from the 100 Smart Cities being developed as satellite towns to large cities at a cost of Rs.7,060 crore.
Nine airports have been sanctioned Electronic Travel Authorisation. But the budget is silent on the airports that are to get e-visa facilities in six months. As Tourist Visa on Arrival (T-VoA) facility is available in Thiruvananthapuram and Cochin international airports, captains of the tourism industry are hopeful that both the airports will make it to the e-visa list.
The State has failed to figure in the five tourist circuits and 16 ports being developed this fiscal.
The Kochi Metro has been given an allocation of Rs.462.17 crore, the largest budgetary support for any project in the State. Of this, Rs.233 crore is the share of the Centre.
The other budgetary allocations include Rs.42.6 crore for FACT. The Rubber Board will get Rs.157.5 crore, Coffee Board Rs.121.8 crore, Spices Board Rs.94.35 crore, Tea Board Rs.117.5 crore, Marine Products Export Development Authority Rs.120 crore, Coir sector Rs.82.35 crore, Cashew Export Council Rs.4 crore, and Kochi Special Economic Zone Rs.6.8 crore. Kerala’s share in the Central tax will be Rs.8,972.51 crore.
