Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh on Friday presented a bold and impressive Rs65,013-crore Budget for the fiscal 2015-16 and kept youth, industry and infrastructure in his centre stage.
The ayurvedic-doctor-turned politician Singh, who is ruling the State since December 2003, acted like a matured economist and made several bold announcements aimed to spur growth, develop a chain of road infrastructure across all the 27 districts and woo investors to realise the dream of Make-in-Chhattisgarh in line of Make-in-India concept of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Overall, Singh, who holds finance portfolios as well, made a whopping 18 per cent hike in Budget comparing to the current fiscal year, which ends on March 31. Singh announced a series of trade and business-friendly tax incentives in VAT, Central Sales Tax and Entry Tax, to make domestic trade and industry more competitive.
But he reaffirmed his commitment to the poor, farmers and the deprived sections of society by introducing many pro-poor schemes. A major highlight of the Budget is the introduction of a separate ‘Youth Budget’, which brings into sharp focus the public investment in schemes that directly relate to the youths which make up about 90 lakh out of State’s 2.55 crore population.
As many as Rs6,151 crore have been allocated for youth with a basic intent to skill development under the Chhattisgarh Right of Youth to Skill Development Act, 2013. The focus on infrastructure is another highlight of the Budget, with an outlay of over Rs11,000 crore, making an increase of over 39 per cent over last year. The allocation for the road sector alone is Rs5,183 crore, an increase of 43 per cent over last year.
In other bold decisions which are targeted to build up infrastructure, Chhattisgarh plans to upgrade all State highways and roads connecting district and block headquarters to double-lane roads. In addition, 2,000 km of existing roads will be upgraded in the PPP mode, with an estimated investment of Rs10,000 crore. Besides, Rs700 crore have been allocated for rural connectivity, for roads not covered under Prime Minister’s Rural Roads Scheme.
The State will also develop a 300-kilometre Rail Corridor through a joint-venture with SECl and IRCON, with an estimated investment of Rs5,000 crore. The Budget also provides for developing the Swami Vivekanand Airport at Raipur in line with international norms. Bold tax reforms have been proposed to further enhance the “ease of doing business” in Chhattisgarh. Traders having an annual turnover of up to Rs1 crore have been exempted outright from filing quarterly returns.
E-payment of taxes has been made compulsory for all tax-payers. VAT on re-rolled products has been reduced to 4 per cent. All industrial inputs, including lubricants, light diesel oil, and electrical panels, have been brought in the 5 per cent VAT slab.