Vijayawada: The state government has accorded high priority to the wel-fare of Backward Classes (BC), Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and minority communities in the state budget presented in the As-sembly on Friday. Finance Minister P Keshav announced an allocation of Rs 81,330 crore, reaffirming government's commitment to the uplift-ment of weaker sections.

Providing a breakdown of the allocations, he stated that Rs 20,281 crore has been earmarked for SC welfare, Rs 8,159 crore for ST welfare, Rs 47,456 crore for BC welfare, and Rs 5,434 crore for minority welfare. The minister emphasized that the state government prioritizes the wel-fare of all weaker sections. Various welfare schemes are being imple-mented to support the socio-economic development of 27.39 lakh Scheduled Tribes and 4.93 lakh vulnerable tribal groups.

Furthermore, the government has allocated ten percent of liquor licenses to toddy tappers as part of its welfare initiatives.

To alleviate the financial burden on SC, ST, and Below Poverty Line (BPL) households, the state government is providing free electricity. Addition-ally, the Adarana scheme has been relaunched to support artisans and traditional craftsmen. He also accused the previous government of diverting Rs 750 crore from Stree Nidhi funds. He reiterated that women's welfare remains a top pri-ority for the current administration, as Chief Minister Chandrababu Nai-du strongly believes in women's empowerment as a driving force for the state's development.