Rs 1,000 cr allocation for agriculture sector in Kerala budget

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 9 (UNI) Promising Rs 1,000 crore worth developmental activities to revive the agricultural sector, Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Issac today presented in the state assembly a Rs 138.44 crore deficit Budget for the year 2007-08, targeting an additional resource mobilisation of Rs 248.69 crore.

The flourishing tourism sector got a budget allocation of about Rs 100 crore, while the booming Information Technology sector got Rs 70 crore.

A sum of Rs 800 crore was set apart for implementing drinking water schemes under the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

Besides targeting fresh areas for resource mobilisation, the second Budget of the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government also announced tax relief to the tune of Rs 71.56 crore, mainly to agriculture, tourism and traditional industry sectors.

Additional resources mobilisation was proposed to be done through hiking vehicle taxes, stamp duty on property transactions and levies on tobacco products, paper lotteries and granite quarries.

As per the Budget estimate for 2007-08, the revenue receipt was projected at Rs 21,445.76 crore as against the revenue expenditure of Rs 26,696.92 crore, leaving a revenue deficit of Rs 5,251.16 crore.

However, the overal revenue deficit would be Rs 138.44 crore as against Rs 566.97 during 2006-07.

In his two-and-a-half-hour Budget speech, Dr Issac said the government wanted to ensure a stable and rapid economic growth in the state and bring down the revenue deficit below one per cent by 2010-11.

The tax on cigarette, pan masala and tobacco products, other than beedi, would go up to 12.5 per cent from the present four per cent once the Centre remove these products from the list of declared goods. An additional revenue of Rs 100 crore was expected from this.

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