Amid boycott by the Opposition Congress, the State finance Minister Prakash Pant presented a Budget of Rs 48,663.90 crore for the Financial Year 2019-20 in State Assembly on Monday. The Budget estimates are about 7 percent higher than last year and like last year, no new tax has been imposed by the Minister.
In a Budget speech replete with couplets of the celebrated poets, Pant said that Budget has been guided by a philosophy. Invoking the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, “We have come with firm beliefs and not mere promises.” He said that the Budget this year focuses on farmers, self employment and women welfare.
The Minister further said that the better financial management has ensured that the gross domestic product (GDP) of the State for the year 2018-19 is estimated at Rs 237147 crore which is 10.34 percent more than the year 2017-18. Similarly, he said, the Per Capita Income of the state is estimated at Rs 190284 ( 2018-19) which is much more than the national average.
The finance minister proposed a budget of Rs 1341.10 crore for the agriculture and horticulture sectors. An allocation of Rs 7642.63 crore has been made for school education while Rs 548.37 crore has been allocated for the higher education sector. In the health sector, the state government has made a provision of Rs 2,545.40 crores, he said.
While presenting the budget, the minister said that the revenue receipts for the year 2019-20 are estimated at Rs 38955.49 crore. He said that the tax revenue for the year has been estimated at Rs 23622.11 crore in the FY 2019-20 while the non- tax revenue has been estimated at Rs 15,333.38 crore .The finance minister further said that the total expenditure for the FY 2019-20 is expected to be Rs 48,666.90 crore. It is estimated that an expense of Rs 38,932.70 crore would be made under revenue account while Rs 9731.20 crore would be spent under the capital account head in the year, Pant said.
The finance minister said that an estimated Rs 14,513.79 crore would be spent on salaries and allowances of the state government employees. Similarly, Rs 5,332.19 crore are estimated to be spent on the payment of interests of loans, he added.
One of the highlights of the budget is that it is a statement of profit with an estimated revenue surplus of Rs 22.79 crores.
However, a fiscal deficit of Rs 6798.15 crore is estimated which, according to the finance minister, is well within the limits prescribed by the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act.
Key features
1. Interest-free loan up to Rs 1 lakh for the poor and the marginal farmers in the budget
2 Interest- free loan up to Rs 5 lakh for the self -help groups working in agriculture and allied activities
3 A provision of Rs 87 crore has been set aside for executing Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sicahi Yojana for irrigation
4 A Provision of Rs 51 crore for national horticulture mission and Rs 20 crore for horticulture insurance scheme has been made
5 Provision of Rs 1,051.36 crore for crossbreed heifer rearing farm has been made
6 Provision of Rs 3141.34 crore under Rural Development and Panchayati Raj has been made
7 Rs 121 crore has been provided for bringing un- irrigated areas under irrigation system
8 For construction of Song dam, a provision of Rs 170 crore has been made. It would help in solving drinking water problem of Dehradun and nearby areas
9 Rs 2302 crore has been provided for Swachchh Bharat scheme
10 To check migration and creating employment opportunities in the rural areas, a provision of Rs 100 crore has been made under cooperative sector