IT News
Imphal, Feb 21:
Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, who is also the leader of the house today said that India’s Presidency of the G20 gives a unique opportunity to strengthen India’s role in the Global economic order and gives us a key role in international decision-making while presenting a Budget estimate of 2023-24 on the 3rd sitting of the 3rd session of 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly session today.
N. Biren said that the theme of our Country’s Presidency: “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” or “One Earth, One Family, One Future” highlights our belief that all countries work together for the common good.
Sectoral allocation of today’s budget estimate 2023-24 presented by the leader of the house N. Biren Singh for the state of Manipur is Rs. 3292 crores for education, Rs. 377crore for forest and environment, Rs. 1919 crore for the health sector, Rs. 95.7 crores for development of Sports sector, Rs. 100 crores for Entrepreneurship and Start-ups, Rs. 25.50 crores for tourism and Culture, Rs. 466 crores for connectivity, Rs. 586 crores for Agriculture and its associated sectors.
Chief Minister N. Biren said that the Union Budget for 2023-24 was the first Budget in Amrit Kaal, as the country moves towards 100 years of Independence. It lays the foundation for India’s economic development for the future and gives the roadmap for growth, development, and progress for all sections of society. As partners in the growth and development story of our great nation, Manipur has an important role to play, especially with our access to South-East and East Asia.
In the recent Union Budget, the Central Government made announcements on personal income tax, which will benefit our hard-working middle class. Now in the new tax regime, persons with income up to Rs. 7 lakhs will not have to pay any tax. The number of taxes labs has now been reduced from six to five. The benefit of standard deduction under the new tax regime will be extended to the salaried class and pensioners, including family pensioners. The highest surcharge rate in the new tax regime has been reduced from 37 percent to 25 percent. All these new announcements will greatly benefit the working middle class of our country.
For FY 2023-24, the Central Government is continuing with the Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SACI) and the Union Budget has made an allocation of Rs. 1.30 lakh crore for the Scheme. The State Government aims to make use of this special assistance to make capital investments in critical areas. The use of this assistance will be mostly at the discretion of the State Government, but a part of the Scheme will be conditional on the State increasing its actual capital expenditure. Allocations under the Scheme will also be linked to the following purposes: (i) Scrapping old government vehicles, (ii) Urban planning reforms and actions,(iii) Financing reforms in urban local bodies to make them creditworthy for municipal bonds, (iv) Housing for police personnel above or as part of police stations, (v) Construction of Unity Malls,(vi) Children and adolescents’ libraries and digital infrastructure, and (vii) State Share of Capital Expenditure of Central Schemes.
To fund developmental initiatives, the State requires adequate resources. For this, robust public finances are required where the State’s receipts can match its required expenditure and at the same time ensure that borrowings of the State are kept within permissible limits.
The State Government continues to take steps to mobilize resources to meet our increased expenditure requirements. We are focusing on improving our own tax revenue, by increasing collection from existing taxes and also exploring new avenues of revenue mobilization. Technology-based analysis and identification are being used by our agencies to improve compliance. Any additional resource mobilized will assist the State to meet its various obligations.
“Our efforts have borne fruit which can be seen from the growth in State GST by 28% and in overall State’s own tax revenue by 25 % growth in 2021-22 compared to 2020-21. I am confident that this trend will continue in the coming years”, N. Biren continued.
