Raipur, March 13 (IANS) Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh presented a Rs. 65,013 crore budget for the fiscal 2015-16 on Friday, focussing on youth, industry and infrastructure.
Ayurvedic doctor-turned-politician Singh, who is ruling the state since Dec 2003, made several bold announcements aimed to spur growth, build road infrastructure across all the 27 districts and woo investors to realise the goal of Make-in-Chhattisgarh in line with the Make-in-India concept of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Singh, who also holds the finance portfolio, announced a series of trade and business-friendly tax incentives in VAT, central sales tax and entry tax, to make domestic trade and industry more competitive.
A major highlight of the budget was the introduction of a separate 'Youth Budget', focussing on public investment in schemes that directly relate to the 90 lakh youths of the state.
An amount of Rs.6,151 crore has been allocated for youths with the basic intent of skill development under the Chhattisgarh Right of Youth to Skill Development Act, 2013.
Infrastructure has been given Rs.11,000 crore, up 39 percent from last year. The allocation for the road sector is Rs. 5,183 crore, an increase of 43 percent over last year.
The budget also proposes to upgrade all state highways and roads connecting district and block headquarters to double-lane roads.
In addition, 2,000 km of existing roads will be upgraded in the PPP mode, with an estimated investment of Rs.10,000 crore. Besides, Rs.700 crore have been allocated for rural connectivity, for roads not covered under the Prime Minister's Rural Roads Scheme.
Traders having an annual turnover of up to Rs.1 crore have been exempted from filing quarterly returns.
To give a fillip to the Clean India initiative of the Prime Minister, bio-toilets have been exempted from VAT and entry tax. In order to incentivise fast track construction of affordable housing, pre-cast and monolithic concrete products have been made tax-free.
VAT on aviation turbine fuel has been reduced to 4 percent.
In the health sector, a special nutrition supplement scheme for TB patients, the first of its kind in the country, and distribution of free insulin for diabetic children are fresh initiatives.
The social security pension for about 16 lakh pensioners has been hiked by 20 percent.
Vande Bharat Fire: Bhopal-Delhi Vande Bharat train caught fire, incident happened near Vidisha, all passengers safe
A major accident was averted on Monday in Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh. A sudden fire broke out in the Bhopal-Delhi Vande Bharat Express here. A fire broke out in the battery box near Vidisha in the Vande
Air India: Seven international flights of Air India cancelled, there is no fault in Boeing 787 fleet; DGCA revealed after investigation
The problems of Air India, which is facing its biggest crisis due to the Ahmedabad plane crash, are not reducing. Seven international flights had to be cancelled on Tuesday due to various reasons.
Republic Day: This year there will be no foreign chief guest in the parade, no head of state is invited due to Corona
No foreign head of state will be made the chief guest in the Republic Day parade this year. The news agency PTI, quoting sources, has claimed that the central government has taken this important
Twitter server down in many countries: Users are unable to log in, the problem for the second time in December; 10 thousand complaints in US
Twitter service is down in many countries on Thursday. Due to this many users are not able to log in. According to media reports, when users are logging in, an error is coming on the screen. Also,
UP Nikay Chunav 2023: CM Yogi Adityanath will hold two conferences and two public meetings in Gorakhpur for BJP candidates
UP Nikay Chunav 2023: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will do four programs between April 28 and May 1 in favor of the BJP candidates in the civic body elections. These include two conferences and two
Entry tax imposed on Ghat for the first time in Varanasi: Rs 10 will have to be paid for sitting and roaming for 4 hours at Namo Ghat; SP-Congress protested
If you are a fan of walking and sitting on the banks of the Ganges in Varanasi, then get ready to lose your pockets. Smart City Company has implemented an entry token system at Namo Ghat (Window Ghat)
Kohli overtakes Sachin-Dravid and Ganguly: Virat became the highest run-scorer in the opposition teams' home, Shardul also played a record innings
Africa won the first ODI between India and South Africa by 31 runs. In the match, there was a target of 297 runs in front of Team India, chasing which the team could only score 265/8 and lost the
Gurugram: Vigilance committee is established to check corruption
Representative Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav has established Vigilance Committees at the locale and sub-divisional level for the counteraction of defilement in the area. These councils will
Article 370: Security tightened in Jammu and Kashmir before 'Supreme' decision, ban on convoys of security forces in the valley
Security has been beefed up in Srinagar ahead of the Supreme Court's decision on petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
Rahul Gandhi vs BJP: 'Insulting the country on foreign soil is Rahul's old habit', BJP lashes out at Congress MP
BJP is on the offensive against the statement of the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi in Boston, USA, and his involvement in the National Herald case. Rahul raised questions on the
