Separate agriculture budget for Odisha

A separate booklet on outlay for the agriculture sector marked the highlight of the Odisha budget for 2012-13 which, otherwise, was replete with slew of proposals for various target groups keeping an eye on the ensuing elections in the state.

The assembly elections are due in early 2014 and this may be the last budget in the current third term of the Naveen Patnaik government in the state. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik later told newsmen, “In the history of Odisha Budget, it is for the first time that we have placed a separate agriculture budget. In this budget, we have given emphasis on agriculture & allied sectors.”

Besides agriculture, the budget stressed on infrastructure development, social security, healthcare and education.

Some of the people-centric schemes of the government which received significant allocations included Mo Kudia scheme (Rs 100 crore), Gopabandhu Gramin Yojana (Rs 225 crore), Biju KBK Yojana (Rs 120 crore), Social security pension schemes for senior citizens (Rs 1149.78 crore), concrete roads for panchayats (Rs 498.88 crore) and the flagship Rs one per kg rice scheme (Rs 1312.05 crore).

Though the budget does not burden the common man with any new tax, it seeks to raise additional revenue from mineral sector by revising stamp duty on instruments of mining lease and renewal of mining leases through amendment in the Indian Stamp Act-1899. The amendment will be introduced in the current session of the assembly.

The revenue surplus budget for 2013-14 contains total outlay of Rs 60303.09 crore, nearly 20 per cent higher than the budget size of Rs 52030.70 crore for 2011-12. The budget has projected a revenue surplus of Rs 1904.61 crore which is 0.65 per cent of gross state domestic product (GSDP).