Kerala Budget 2011- In Brief
LDF Government in Kerala presented a people-centric Budget on February 10th, 2011 with a focus to welfare measures, price-control programmes and infrastructure development
The main points in brief are:
Common Man
1. Raised minimum welfare pension to Rs 400, a new pension scheme for domestic aides(majority of whom are women)
2. Measures to strengthen the social security net for below poverty line (BPL) sections, bringing four million families under a free insurance scheme.
3. Proposed free health insurance for BPL families
4. Write off the housing loans taken by poor people in the society under the government's Maythree Housing Loan Scheme.
5. Insulate the poor from the impact of price rise- 40 lakh families will be provided rice at Rs 2 a kg.
6. Stepping up the state-subsidised distribution network, 3,000 ration shops across the state would be made franchisees of the state Civil Supplies Corporation
7. Measures to check price rise of essential commodities. A kit with provisions of Rs.300 will be available at a price of Rs.150'
8. The commission of ration dealers was increased, to strengthen the functioning of ration shops
Infrastructure
1. A Special package for improving roads and building new links throughout the state
2. Improving amenities in five major cities, including the state capital.Thiruvananthapuram gets Rs 250 crore, Kochi Rs 202 crore, Kozhikode Rs 180 crore, Thrissur Rs 142 crore and Kollam Rs 120 crore.
3. Infrastructure development of the state- a Comprehensive Road Rehablitation project with a total out lay of Rs.40,000 crore was proposed
4. Setting up of new welfare boards for workers in private hospitals, Hospital Development Committees, Un-Aided Schools,College and Private Special Schools - Rs.10 crores.
Tax and rebates
1. No increase in tax rates
2. Proposed to simplify proceedures to file tax returns by introducing five forms in place of the 25 forms now.
3. All types of bricks,organic fertilizers, nylon plastic ropes have been exculded completely from tax net.
4. Luxury tax on Cable TV Operators withdrawn
5. Lowered the tax on sand from 12.5 to 4 percent
6. A new tax amnesty package for ailing Playwodd and Ayurveda Drug Industry.
Facts and Figures
1. A year end defecit of Rs.730.67 crores
2. Total revenue income was Rs.38 546.89 crores and revenue expenses of Rs.44,566.33 with a revenue defecit of Rs.6019.44 crores.
3. Total capital expenditure was Rs.2910.13 crores.The additional expenditure for the year was Rs.753.41 crores in the budget.
4. The salary bill for government employees in the state would increase from Rs.11130 crores to Rs.16326 crores.
5. Pension expenditure increase from Rs.5788 crores to Rs.7311 crores
6. Total public debt of the state decrease to 29.03 per from the existing 29.52 per cent from state's income
