Page 3 - State Budgets

HP govt plans tax concessions for milk producers, agri schemes in Budget

The Himachal Pradesh government will consider giving tax concessions to milk producers and launch innovative schemes to increase the farmers' income in the upcoming budget, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Sunday. The budget session of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly will be held from February 14 to 29. The state budget will be presented on February 17. Interacting with the milk producers of the state here, he said the government was encouraging agriculture as an industry to make the farmers self-reliant. "As agriculture and milk production plays a pivotal role in promoting the rural economy, the state government is coming up with innovative schemes to increase the income of farmers in the upcoming budget, results of which would be visible in next two years", he said in a statement issued here. Fundamental changes were being made in the policies and rules to ensure that money goes directly to the farmers, he noted. The government will also consider giving tax concessio

Ram Rajya vision: Yogi 2.0 unveils Budget to become $1 trn economy

The Budget allocates almost Rs 25,000 crore for new development schemes, especially targeted for the uplift of youth, women, farmers, and the underprivileged

HP budget to focus on improving financial condition of state: CM Sukhu

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday said the Himachal Pradesh budget for fiscal year 2024-25 would be framed with a focus on prosperity and improving the financial condition of the state. The Budget session of Himachal Pradesh would be held from February 14 to 29 and the budget would be presented on February 17. The government was working with the aim of 'Vyavastha Parivartan' (change in system) and focusing on rapid improvement in the financial condition of the state, a sttement quoted Sukhu as sayin. The chief minister was speaking in the 'Chaupal' programme organised by a media house in New Delhi, according to a statement issued here. He said the Himachal Pradesh government was committed to the overall development of the state and its citizens. The Congress-led state government has implemented its poll guarantee of restoring the Old Pension Scheme for government employees, Sukhu added. The chief minister said the government aims to develop Himachal Pradesh as a tou

Kerala Budget: Govt hikes excise duty on liquor, pitches for privatisation

A cash-strapped Kerala government on Monday increased court fees and excise duty on liquor and pitched for public-private funding in key areas to raise funds for the implementation of various developmental projects in the state budget for the fiscal 2024-25. Despite expectations, the government opted not to enhance social welfare pensions and also provided only a nominal increase of Rs 10 in the minimum support price for rubber -- a major cash crop of the state -- enhancing it to Rs 180 from Rs 170 earlier. Finance Minister K N Balagopal tabled the fourth budget of the second Pinarayi Vijayan government without hiding the financial constraints it is facing, while attacking the Centre for the alleged neglect it shows towards the state. Seeking to raise additional revenue, the budget proposed a hike of Rs 10 per litre in excise duty on Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) and an increase of 15 paise per unit in electricity duty for consumers who generate and consume energy for their own

FY25 Budget will help state become $1 trn economy: UP finance min Khanna

Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna on Monday said his budget for the next fiscal year will be all-inclusive and help the state become a USD 1-trillion economy. Talking to reporters ahead of presenting the annual budget for the financial year 2024-25 in the state assembly, Khanna said the budget will be 'Sarv Samaveshi' (all-inclusive) and 'Sarv Sparshi' (taking care of all) to ensure all-round development. "The Yogiji's (Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath) budget will take UP forward to achieve its target of becoming a 1 trillion dollar economy," he said. He further said that the upcoming budget is expected to give emphasis on infrastructure, youth employment, and women empowerment. Asked about whether the budget will give a push to BJP's religious agenda by allocating more funds to places of religious importance, he said, "all this comes under the head of infrastructure".

Kerala Budget: Support price of rubber hiked, agri sector gets Rs 1,698 cr

Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal on Monday presented the state's budget for the financial year 2024-25 in the assembly by allocating Rs 1,698.30 crore for the struggling agriculture sector and increasing the minimum support price for rubber to Rs 180 from Rs 170. He also set aside Rs 50 crore for extreme poverty eradication and announced Rs 134.42 crore for the cooperative sector. Tabling the fourth budget of the second Pinarayi Vijayan government, Balagopal said that though the state is facing an economic crunch and the Centre allegedly imposing financial restrictions, the LDF government would not show any compromise in the development front. Indicating that the state government would go ahead with its development plans, the finance minister said investments worth Rs three lakh crore would be brought to the southern state in the next three years. He said Rs 1,698 crore would be set aside for the traditional agricultural sector and investments worth Rs 5,000 crore would be ...

Gujarat govt presents Rs 3.32 trillion Budget; no new taxes proposed

The BJP-ruled Gujarat government on Friday presented a Rs 3.32 lakh crore budget that imposed no new taxes. Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai presented the budget for 2024-25 in the Assembly here on the second day of the Budget Session. Desai informed the House that the budget outlay of Rs 3,32,465 crore for 2024-25 indicates an increase of Rs 31,444 crore, or 10.44 per cent, over the previous fiscal. The state government presented the budget with an estimated surplus of 146.72 crore and proposed no new taxes. In his budgetary address, Desai announced a host of schemes and projects and said the state government kept GYAN Garib' (the poor), Yuva' (youth), Annadata' (farmer) and Nari Shakti' (women power) at the core while preparing the budget. Under the newly proposed Namo Lakshmi' scheme, girls studying in government, aided and private schools from Classes 9 to 12 will be given Rs 50,000 over the four years of their education. A provision of Rs 1,250 crore has been made in the bud

Budget focused on economic resilience, creates opportunities for all

It carefully allocates public resources and commits to reduce the country's fiscal debt

Budget focused on economic resilience, creates opportunities for all

It carefully allocates public resources and commits to reduce the country's fiscal debt

Budget to boost healthcare sector, bolster bulk drug manufacturing: Expert

India's interim Budget would help in addressing some of the major challenges being faced by the country in the health and pharma sector and reinforce India's standing as the Pharmacy of the World, a well-known pharma industry association head has said. The Union Health Ministry has been allocated Rs 90,658.63 crore in the interim Budget for 2024-2025, a hike of 12.59 per cent over 80,517.62 crore in the Budget (revised estimates) for 2023-2024. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government plans to set up more medical colleges by utilising existing hospital infrastructure and will form a committee to examine the issues and make relevant recommendations. India's commitment to promoting research and development in the life sciences sector will receive a boost with the government's plan to establish more medical colleges in the country, Karun Rishi, president of the USA India Chamber of Commerce said on Thursday. "This initiative will improve healthcare services and contribu

From Adityanath to M K Stalin, here are CMs' views on Interim Budget

It is a Budget that will help empower women, said UP CM

Gujarat Assembly session: Budget for FY25 to be presented on Feb 2

The budget session of the Gujarat assembly will begin on Thursday and the state budget for FY 2024-25 will be presented on Friday, a state minister said. The budget will reflect the vision of the state government for the next year and a road map for the next 25 years, he said. The opposition Congress has said it will corner the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government on a range of issues including inflation, unemployment, and the recent boat capsize tragedy in a lake in Vadodara, resulting in the death of 12 students and two teachers. The budget session will start with the customary address of Governor Acharya Devvrat. "On the first day, the governor will present the previous year's achievements of the state government in his address to the House," Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rushikesh Patel told reporters in Gandhinagar on Wednesday. Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai will present the budget on the next day (February 2). The budget will reflect the vision of the s

Interim Budget 2024: Some key imperatives that are need for the economy

Simplifying taxes would help businesses navigating turbulent times, writes Ketan Dalal

Centre holds all-party meet ahead of interim Budget session of Parliament

Floor leaders of various parties on Tuesday attended an all-party meeting convened by the government ahead of the Budget session of Parliament. Defence Minister and Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha, Rajnath Singh, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and his deputy Arjun Ram Meghwal represented the government at the meet. NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Congress' K Suresh, TMC's Sudip Bandopadhyay, DMK's T R Baalu, Shiv Sena's Rahul Shewale, Samajwadi Party's S T Hasan, JD(U)'s Ram Nath Thakur and TDP's Jayadev Galla were among the leaders present at the meeting at the Parliament House complex. It is a customary practice ahead of every session to convene a meeting as leaders of different parties highlight the issues they want to raise in Parliament, and the government offers them a glimpse into its agenda and seeks their cooperation. It will be a short session this time, between January 31 and February 9, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman set to table an interim budget ahead

Indian investors favour long-term bonds anticipating conservative budget

Recent bond auctions saw bids that surpassed expectations, said Alok Singh, group treasury head at CSB Bank

Kerala govt agrees to discuss financial problems of state in Assembly

The Kerala government on Tuesday agreed to discuss in the state assembly an issue raised by the Congress-led UDF opposition regarding the financial problems being faced by the southern state. The UDF, in an adjournment notice, alleged that the mismanagement and extravagance of the Left government was the cause for the financial problems in the state. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan welcomed the adjournment notice moved by the opposition to suspend the scheduled business of the House and discuss the issue. In view of the stand taken by the CM, Speaker A N Shamseer ruled that the scheduled business of the House would be suspended for two hours at 1 pm for discussion on the notice. Agreeing to discuss the issue, the chief minister said that the government was ready as the opposition in its adjournment notice agreed that the Centre's neglect towards Kerala was one of the reasons for the financial problems in the state. Vijayan also pointed out that despite this, the UDF MPs have never

State revenue grows 5% till Nov against 17.4 budgeted for FY24: Report

The growth rate of the combined revenue receipts of the 16 largest states has fallen by almost 80 per cent to 5 per cent during April-November from the budgeted 17.4 per cent for the current fiscal, according to a report. The states have so far borrowed over 37 per cent more than they did last fiscal and given these poor numbers, they will have to borrow heavily this fiscal to service their debt and pay salaries and pensions. The plunge is due to a contraction in sales tax and lower-than-budgeted growth of state goods and services tax collections (SGST), excise duty and stamps and registrations during the period, restricting the growth of states own tax revenue (SOTR) to 11 per cent. Another reason for the poor numbers is the steep decline in Central grants, Icra Ratings said in a report. The agency, though, expects an upside in tax devolution in the fourth quarter, its quantum may not be adequate to fully offset the shortfall in grants. Moreover, even if a sizeable portion of the

Delhi assembly Budget to be tabled on Feb 16; session starts from Feb 15

The Budget session of the Delhi Assembly will be held from February 15 to 20, an official said here on Friday. He said Delhi Finance Minister Atishi will table the 2024-25 budget of the city government on February 16. It will be the first budget presentation by Atishi, who was given the finance portfolio last year. A file of the budget session has been sent to Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena for his approval, the officer added.

Bengal CM Mamata calls on Guv Bose, discusses state budget, other issues

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met Governor CV Ananda Bose on Wednesday evening. The two leaders held discussions over several issues, including the budget session of the state assembly next month, Raj Bhavan officials said. "I am feeling pain, despite that I have come for the meeting. As per the verdict of the Supreme Court, we had a very good meeting. I will come again on January 26," Banerjee said, referring to the injury she received on her forehead after her car made a sudden halt to avoid a collision with another vehicle. She said the meeting was fruitful. Bose and the TMC government have been at loggerheads over various issues, including the appointment of vice-chancellors in state-run universities. The state government has been claiming that the governor's appointment of VCs was illegal as he did not consult the Education Department. The state government had moved the Supreme Court, which ordered the preparation of a final draft of the list of names proposed fo

Disinvestments slow, but govt keeps earning dividends from state-run firms

It has never happened that the budget estimate for dividends from such companies has failed