Fiscal deficit of Rs. 17,400 cr. in maiden TS budget.

Finance Minister Eatala Rajender recently presented the maiden budget of Telangana to the State Assembly with an outlay of Rs. 1,00,637 crore that included non-plan expenditure of Rs. 51,989 crore and plan expenditure of Rs. 48,648 crore.

The budget for the 10-month period since the formation of the State on June 2 is Rs 11,824 crore less than that of Andhra Pradesh and Rs. 61,348 crore less than that of the combined State in 2013-14.

The revenue surplus was estimated at Rs. 301 crore, while the fiscal deficit (expenditure in excess of revenue) was Rs.17,398 crore, which was 4.79 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). Services and industries sectors contribute 58 and 28 per cent, respectively, to the GSDP. The lack of momentum in the growth of industry sector was a matter of grave concern for the new State, Mr. Rajender noted.


THE HINDU