The Hindu 02.03.2017
Meal for Rs. 5 to urban poor in Madhya Pradesh budget
Finance Minister Jayant Malaiya presenting the budget in the Assembly in Bhopal on Wednesday.A.M.FaruquiA_M_Faruqui”
Sops for widows, government employees announced
Meal for Rs. 5 to the urban poor, pension to widows and Seventh Pay
Commission benefits to employees were key highlights of Madhya Pradesh’s
Budget for 2017-2018 presented in the Assembly on Wednesday.
Finance
Minister Jayant Malaiya presented a Rs. 1,85,564.27-crore budget, which
goes to the polls in 2018, with a revenue surplus of Rs. 4596.40 crore
He
hiked VAT on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) sold for fuelling at Indore
and Bhopal airports, thus making the air travel dearer from these two
cities.
“The State has
remained a revenue surplus state since 2004-05 and the same situation is
expected to continue in 2017-18. The fiscal deficit for 2017-18 is
estimated to be Rs. 25688.97 crore, which is within the 3.5 per cent
limit prescribed under the Madhya Pradesh Fiscal Responsibility and
Budget Management Act, 2005,” said Mr. Malaiya, presenting his fifth
Budget. “State Government employees will get the benefit of the Seventh
Pay Commission from Jan 1, 2016, and will be paid hiked salaries from
July 2017,” he said.
Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chouhan later announced that meal will be provided to the poor for
Rs 5 initially in four major cities.
