As the Ukraine-Russia crisis continues and thousands of students have returned to India, the Kerala government, during its Budget announcement on Friday, March 11, has allocated a sum of Rs 10 crore to assist the Kerala students who have returned from Ukraine. The Department of Non Resident Keralites’ Affairs (NORKA) will be undertaking the task of coordinating with the students, state Finance Minister KN Balagopal announced.
The Finance Minister presented the first ever paperless budget in the state. In the first complete budget of the second Pinarayi Vijayan-led government, the minister said that those stranded in various places in Ukraine including students have been safely brought back to their homes through NORKA. “As part of this, 3123 persons have been safely brought to their homeland using various flights, including 15 chartered flights. Those who have lost certificates and other valuable documents should be able to recover them and continue their studies”, he said.
The Finance Minister said that the state government will provide necessary assistance to the returnees. However, he also said that special intervention by the Union government is required to facilitate the resumption of studies of students who were forced to return from Ukraine due to the ongoing conflict there. “Special efforts will be taken under the leadership of NORKA to coordinate these activities”, the minister said.
He further added that the data bank of Malayalee students studying abroad will be prepared by the NORKA department soon.
During the Budget session, the minister also announced that Rs 2,000 crore has been set aside to regulate the increasing inflation in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and the possible hike in the price of petroleum products. Besides this, Rs 100 crore has been allocated for setting up a medical tech innovation hub in the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram.
During the first paperless Budget presentation, the opposition took a dig at Balagopalan for using an i-Pad to present the Budget, saying that there was a time when the minister was at the forefront of protests against technology in the Assembly, as the CPI(M) was against it.
(With inputs from PTI and IANS)