Page 2 - States Budget

First Budget of Congress govt will be people-centric, says HP CM Sukhu

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Sunday in Nadaun said that the first budget of his government will be "people-centric" and the change will be for all to see in a year. The government was maintaining financial discipline considering the overall fiscal position of the state and few stringent decisions will have to be taken to bring it back on track, he said. "Wait for one year, you will find change in the system," Sukhu said addressing people in his home constituency, which he reached five hours ahead of the schedule. The Chief Minister said the government was committed to work for the welfare of every last man in the state. He assured the people that there won't be a dearth of funds for the construction of Dr Radhakrishnan Medical College in Hamirpur and it will be equipped with the latest technology to become the model health institution from the state. The government will open a nursing college in the premises of the medical college, he added. Earlier i

Best of BS Opinion: Deficient regulation, structural strength, and more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

States do Centre a good turn

A sharp reduction in states' deficit augurs well for the Centre's fiscal planning

Bommai to present popular, surplus budget in poll-bound Karnataka in Feb

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will present the state budget for 2023-24 fiscal in February ahead of the Assembly elections scheduled to be held in April-May this year

Are states with high levels of poverty spending less on MGNREGS?

Experts said an institutionalised system of social audits will clear lots of doubt

States seek greater fiscal space, budgetary autonomy from finance ministry

The federal government fixes the permissible budget gap. It was set at 3.5% of GSDP for 2022-23, with some extra room given to states who meet certain conditions

Weak revenue, high capital outlays to keep States' debt at decadal high

The aggregate indebtedness of states, is expected to remain elevated at 30-31 per cent this fiscal, almost similar to 31.5 per cent of last fiscal, Crisil report said

States' MGNREGA under probe for potential financial misappropriation

Some states have been using more than permitted MGNREGA funds to build rural infrastructure instead of generating livelihood opportunities for rural needy, says Central government

FM criticises states seeking more funds, says 'You, Me' culture won't work

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday criticised states seeking greater funds from the Central government on the basis of the fact that they generated more revenue

States' borrowing cost eases for third week in a row, dips to 7.52%

States breathed easy in the debt market as the average cut-off on their market borrowings dipped sharply to 7.52 per cent, down 15 basis points from last week to the lowest level since mid-May. This is the third consecutive week of falling cut-off, as in the last two sessions the cost has come down by 10 basis points (bps). Last week the yield declined by 7 bps to 7.67 per cent. At the weekly auction of State Development Loans (SDLs) on Tuesday, six states raised Rs 5,900 crore, which is nearly 54 per cent lower than indicated in their borrowing calendar for the week, Icra Ratings said in a note. The weighted average cut-off eased sharply by 15 bps to 7.52 per cent at Tuesday's auctions. Similarly, there was also a decline in the weighted average tenor of the securities, the agency said. It attributed the steep fall in yields to a fall in the weighted average tenor which declined to 13 years from 15 years as also a fall in cut-off across tenors. The weighted average cut-off of the

Punjab: In AAP govt's 1st budget, health, agri, education are focus areas

Presenting the AAP government's first budget, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Monday announced providing 300 units of free electricity to households from July 1

FM Sitharaman to present J&K budget for 2022-23 in Rajya Sabha

On March 14, the union territory's budget was presented and passed by the Lok Sabha

TN budget futuristic, aimed at propelling economic growth, says CII

Confederation of Indian Industry Tamil Nadu on Friday termed the budget presented by Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan as futuristic, inclusive and growth-oriented propelling economic growth

No new tax in Himachal budget, age limit for old-age pension at 60 yrs

Presenting his fifth and the last budget of the current government, Thakur announced to decrease the age limit for availing such pension without any income limit from 70 years to 60 years

Budget is pro-people, has something for everyone, says Gujarat CM Patel

The budget's outlay of Rs 2,43,965 crore was the highest compared to previous budgets of the state, he said

Every section covered in Budget: Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot

He highlighted free treatment in IPD (inpatient department) and OPD (outpatient department) in government hospitals and old pension scheme for state employees as some of the several key announcements

States pays through the nose for debt as cost soars past 7.16% this fiscal

The cost of debt-funds for the states has touched the highest level so far this fiscal with the weighted average cut-off crossing the 7.16 percentage points at the latest auctions, up 11 bps

UP Assembly passes Rs 8,479 cr supplementary budget for FY22

The Opposition parties raised an objection regarding the supplementary budget, terming it as irrelevant

The state of states

India's fiscal challenge can get worse if states spend more even with lower revenue growth

Major states may finish Covid-19 vaccination by July 2022: Report

At the current pace, UP and Maharashtra would take 15 and 17 months respectively to cover their universal population