RAIPUR: With an intent to fulfil the promises under “Modi ki Guarantee,” the Vishnu Deo Sai-led Chhattisgarh government presented the first-ever paperless budget of Rs 1.47 lakh crore for 2024-25, focusing on prosperity for GYAN—gareeb (poor), yuva (youths), annadata (farmers), and naari (women).The budget states the necessity of stimulating infrastructural growth by increasing capital expenditure besides facilitating employment or livelihood promotion for youths and overall growth of tribal’s. The budget neither proposes any new taxes nor increments in the existing tax rates.The state finance minister, O P Choudhary, presented the budget estimate of Rs 1,47,500 crore, which is 22 percent higher than the estimated budget receipts over the previous year’s revised expenditure estimates. Choudhary also declared his government’s desire to propel Chhattisgarh for inclusive development and growth in all sectors and turn the state into a developed one under the “Amritkaal: Chhattisgarh Vision@2047”.The finance department has drafted 10 fundamental strategic pillars that will assist the state in achieving mid-term and long-term goals by 2047. “The net fiscal deficit of the state is estimated at Rs 16,296 crore, which is 2.90 per cent of the gross state domestic product and well within the limit of 3 percent set in the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM),” he said.The women and child development department saw the highest increase in allocation with 112 percent followed by public health engineering (97%), mineral resources (80%), public health (37%), while urban administration (13%) and school education (10%) are among those that saw lower rises.
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