AHMEDABAD: With Gujarat going to polls later this year, Finance Minister Kanu Desai on Thursday presented the BJP government’s last budget on Thursday, deciding not to levy fresh taxes and making the highest allocation for education. The budget estimated an overall surplus of Rs 560.09 crore. Desai presented a budget of around Rs 2.5 lakh crores, imposing no new tax burden on the public. The existing tax rates remain unchanged.
The minister announced three new medical colleges at Botad, Veraval and Jam Khambhalia. The minister announced a complete waiver on professional tax on middle-class families earning a salary of up to Rs 12,000 per month. According to the announcement, 15 lakh, middle-class taxpayers will get Rs 198 crore relief.
Under the existing professional tax structure, salary earners who are in receipt of Rs 6,000 and Rs 8,999 per month and Rs 9,000-Rs 11,999 per month are required to pay Rs 80 and Rs 150 per month, respectively, as professional tax.
The Assembly also saw discussions on the fate of Gujarati students caught in the Ukraine-Russia war. Many students from the state are in Ukraine for medical studies and are trapped in a war-torn country. Following Opposition questions about their well-being, the state government announced three new medical colleges. As per the government, 31 medical colleges are functioning that offer 5,700 MBBS and 2,000 PG seats.
To provide high-quality healthcare services, the state government plans a provision of Rs 106 crore to develop ultra-modern facilities in government medical colleges in Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar and Surat. It also plans a medical university for research and higher studies.