10% additional DA, Rs20 hike in daily wages in HP budget

The Himachal Pradesh government announced 10 per cent hike in dearness allowance and a Rs 20 increase in daily wages to Rs 170 in the budget for 2014-15 presented in the assembly today.
With an eye on coming Lok Sabha polls, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh presented a please-all budget, leaving a huge uncovered deficit of Rs 5,354 crore.
No new tax has been proposed in the Rs 23,613-crore budget which projects revenue deficit of Rs 3,262 crore and fiscal deficit of Rs 5,354 crore for 2014-15.
In his two-hour-and-fifteen-minute-long speech, Singh, who presented his 17th budget announced 10 per additional dearness allowance to 2.5 lakh odd employees and pensioners from July 1, 2014, increase in daily wages from Rs 150 to Rs 170.

He also announced regularisation of daily wagers with six years of service, old age pension of Rs 1,000 per month pension to all citizens above 80 years, benefitting 60,000 persons and 50 per cent increase in honorarium of Anganwadi workers and helpers.
The Chief minister announced 5 per cent increase in basic pension of pensioners after every five years on attaining age of 65 years, 70 years and 75 years, hike in honorarium of tailoring teachers from Rs 1600 to Rs 2000 per month and Home Guards from rs 225 to Rs 2 60 per day.

The stamp duty would be cut from 6 per cent to 4 per cent for women.

The grant for marriage of daughters and grand daughters would go up from Rs 21,000 to Rs 51,000, housing subsidy to SC, ST and OBC from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000, ration allowance of police personnel from Inspectors to constables from Rs 150 to Rs 180 while social security pension has been increased from Rs 500 to Rs 550 per month.
The expenditure on committed liabilities like salaries, pensions, interest payments, loan repayment and maintenance has been estimated at Rs 7,467 crore, Rs 3,496 crore, Rs 2,750 crore and Rs 1,840 crore while only Rs 7,753 crore would be left for developmental works.

Total revenue receipts are estimated at Rs 16,522 crore while total revenue expenditure is estimated at Rs 19,784 crore leaving a deficit of Rs 3,262 crore.
The expected receipts in capital account are pegged at Rs 3,860 crore apart from Rs 1,125 crore in public account, including provident fund while the capital expenditure, including loan repayments, is estimated at Rs 3,830 crore, leaving total fiscal deficit of Rs 5,354 crore (22.63 per cent).