Electronics to cost lesser in Chhattisgarh in FY14

State govt earmarks Rs 2000 cr in budget for implementation of food security scheme

Low cost mobile handsets, induction cooker, computer spare parts would cost less in Chhattisgarh as the state government had curtailed the Value Added Tax (VAT).

In the annual budget for the fiscal 2013-14 that was presented in the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly today, the state government announced to reduce VAT on mobile handsets costing upto Rs 3000, induction cooker, LED bulb and light, computer spare parts, flavoured milk and food colour from 14 per cent to 5 per cent.

The budget that focussed on agriculture to allure the 76 per cent population of the state in the election year had given respite to the farmers in purchasing paddy transplanter by making the product tax free in the state. Entry tax on soyabean had been waived.

The VAT on medical oxygen had been reduced from 14 per cent to 5 per cent while composition fee on roads contract had been reduced from 2 to 1 per cent.

The government had earmarked Rs 2000 crore in the budget for the implementation of the food security scheme. Chhattisgarh is the only state in the country to enact a law on food security to ensure food for everyone.

In the Rs 44,169 crore annual budget for the fiscal 2013-14, the gross fiscal deficit is estimated at Rs 5145 crore, which is 3 per cent of the GSDP limit set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act.

Chief Minister Raman Singh said after presenting the budget that the state plan outlay of Rs 22,491 crore was higher by 8 per cent that current year’s allocation. “About 86 per cent of state’s plan is funded from state’s own resources,” he said, adding that it was a big achievement.

The state estimates a growth of 16 per cent in tax and 25 per cent in non-tax revenue. With the 9 per cent increase in plan expenditure, the total plan outlay estimated at Rs 24,699 crore is 56 per cent of the total budget outlay.