Hyderabad: The Telangana government on Sunday a presented a tax-free budget for 2020-21, proposing an expenditure of over Rs 1,82,914 crore with major allocations made for farming, irrigation, social security pensions, rural and urban development among others.
An amount of Rs 14,000 crore was allocated for 'Rythu Bandhu', a flagship scheme of the K Chandrasekhar Rao-led TRS government, for providing investment support to farmers.
Noting that Rs 50,000 crore would be needed in the next five years to develop the state capital as an international city, the budget proposed an amount of Rs 10,000 crore during 2020-21 to carry out projects and development works in Hyderabad Urban Agglomeration area.
Out of the Rs 1,82,914.42 crore expenditure, the revenue expenditure is Rs 1,38,669.82 crore and capital expenditure is Rs 22,061.18 crore in the budget presented on a Sunday.
It is estimated that surplus in budget estimates is Rs 4,482.12 crore, while the fiscal deficit is Rs 33,191.25 crore, state Finance Minister T Harish Rao said in his Budget speech in the state assembly.
As per the Revised Estimates, the total expenditure in 2019-20 is estimated at Rs 1,42,152.28 crore and the surplus in revenue account Rs 103.55 crore, he added.
The revenue expenditure is Rs 1,10,824.77 crore while capital expenditure Rs 13,165.72 crore.
Noting that the budget has been prepared against the backdrop of "overall economic slowdown gripping the Indian economy," he said consequently there is reduction in tax devolution and other transfers to the state by the Centre and decline in the growth of state revenues.
The tax devolution from the Centre to the state is expected to be lower in 2019-20 by Rs 3,731 crore as compared to the budget estimates, he said.
There are delays and shortfalls in the release of the state's share in Integrated Goods and Services Tax and GST compensation, the minister said.
Following the economic slowdown, the growth of the State's own revenues in 2019-20 (till the end of February) is estimated to be at 6.3 per cent, much below the growth of 16.
1 per cent achieved in 2018-19, he said.
"On top of this, following the recommendations of the Fifteenth Finance Commission, there will be a reduction in the share of Telangana in central tax devolution from 2.437 per cent to 2.133 per cent
resulting in reduction of tax devolution by an amount of Rs 2,384 crore in 2020-21," Harish Rao said.