CHENNAI: Presenting the first budget of Tamil Nadu government after the implementation of GST on Thursday, Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam projected a slightly lower revenue deficit for 2018-19 than the previous fiscal. He also said that “the silver lining in the dark cloud is that there are signs of economic revival and it is expected to improve resources and present revenue deficit.”
“Projected revenue deficit for 2017-18 is Rs 18,370.27 crore, while for 2018-19 it is Rs 17,490.58 crore,” he said. Giving details on the fiscal indicators for 2018-2019, Panneerselvam said capital expenditure was `28,282.76 crore, and fiscal deficit was `Rs 44,480.73 crore, about 2.79 percent of GSDP.
“A total of Rs 43,962.48 crore will be raised as net borrowings during 2018-2019, as against the permissible limit of Rs 47,887.59 crore. The net outstanding debt on March 31, 2019 will be `3,55,844.84 crore and the Debt-GSDP ratio will be 22.29 percent, well below the norm of 25.”
For 2018-19, total revenue receipts have been projected at Rs 1,76,251.48 crore, while total revenue expenditure has been estimated at Rs 1,93,742.06 crore. “In revised estimates for 2017-18, Central taxes has been estimated at Rs 27,099.72 crore, and Rs 31,707.09 crore for 2018-2019. Grants-in-aid, including GST compensation, have been estimated at Rs19,264.60 crore for 2017-2018, and Rs20,626.87 crore for 2018-2019.”
Unlike the past, there are no popular announcements which can cost the exchequer dearly. “This budget is being presented under challenging circumstances. The economy needs to be steered in a hazy environment due to transformational changes post demonetisation and GST implementation.”
Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam also spelt out the 10 major challenges the State government is facing now and said the budget focuses on strategies to tackle them and lead the State on the path of accelerated economic growth and to prosperity.
“The economy is slowly picking up which is evident from the increase in GSDP growth rate in real terms, from 4.85 per cent in 2012-2013 to 8.03 per cent in 2017-2018 despite the temporary setbacks in between,” the Deputy chief minister pointed out.
Panneerselvam also expressed confidence that the State government’s borrowing would be brought under control and more resources would be made available for welfare schemes and development expenditure.
Observing that though the public aspirations were very high, the resource constraints continue to persist, Panneerselvam said the State government had just overcome two major obstacles — implementation of UDAY scheme and pay panel recommendations amidst challenging times.
The Deputy CM also observed that the sustained investments made in the primary sector and the measures taken for invigorating the industrial investment in the State could drive the economic growth further to surpass nine per cent during 2018-19.
During the period from July 2017 to February 2018, the State had received Rs 632 crore as GST compensation from the Centre, he said and expressed confidence that Tamil Nadu would stand to gain from GST in due course.
Earlier, MLAs of DMK and its allies Congress and IUML staged a walk out immediately after Panneerselvam rose to present the budget.
