Manipur has been roiled by ethnic clashes since May 2023.

Ahead of the presentation of the Union Budget, the Manipur government has approached the Centre with a wishlist that includes demand for additional funds over and above the 10% usually earmarked from gross budgetary support for North-East states, financial support for 5,000 units of housing for violence-affected victims as a special project under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), and enhanced allocation for security-related expenditure, which has increased significantly in the wake of the ethnic violence.

Other demands made by Manipur include enhancing the upper limit of professional tax from Rs 2,500 per annum to Rs 50,000 per annum, and continuation of the Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment to help the state meet critical capital expenditure in sectors facing a resource crunch. It has also sought extension of the timeline until July 31 for utilisation of funds released under this scheme as a one-time relaxation, citing the unrest in the state affecting the movement of goods and people leading to the slow progress of projects taken up under the scheme.

Given that this Union Budget will be the first full-fledged Budget since violence broke out, Manipur is already in the process of drafting several proposals to be sent to different Central government ministries under existing schemes for rehabilitation efforts, including livelihood generation. Towards this, Manipur has sought an enhanced allocation for itself under the various schemes, beyond the 10% Gross Budgetary Support earmarked for North-East states.