Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], January 29 : Kerala Finance Minister KN Balagopal on Thursday said the LDF government's upcoming Budget will be "populist yet practical," with a strong focus on real, implementable development rather than mere promises.
Balagopal is set to present the Budget, the final one of the current Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic (LDF) government.
Highlighting a decade of LDF rule, Balagopal claimed significant improvements in living standards across all sections of society, from the poor and elderly to students, workers and technology professionals, along with major infrastructure growth.
"We are trying our best to improve the living conditions and development of the state of Kerala. We did that in every Budget. For the last 10 years, LDF Government was in power. In these 10 years, there has been an enormous growth in all areas of people's lives. Common people, downtrodden, old people, students, workers, modern technology-related workers and employees, this change is everywhere. A lot of development has happened in infrastructure," he said.
The Kerala FM said the government is working towards a "single-city" development model for the state and expressed hope for positive changes from the upcoming Central Budget and the next Finance Commission award, noting that the previous commission had been unfavourable to the state.
"We are trying to do our best to make Kerala a single city - Kerala is like a long, single city. So, we are planning like that. That will be the focus...The Budget should be populist and at the same time, it should be reliable, practical and it should not be only on expectations and dreams. It should be 'work and happen," Balagopal said.
"We are expecting a lot from the Central Budget. The Finance Commission Award is coming. Last Finance Commission was very negative for Kerala. We are expecting a lot of changes in the coming days, we are expecting a lot from Central Budget and Finance Commission," the Kerala FM said.
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