Gujarat's developmental expenditure to grow 2% in 2018-19, non-developmental by 20%: State budget papers

Gujarat budget papers released by the state government in the assembly on Tuesday suggest that while the “developmental” expenditure for the forthcoming financial year, 2018-19, would rise by just about 2.46% over the previous year, 2017-18, the “non-developmental” expenditure, on the other hand, would grow by a whopping 20.2%.
If the budget papers are any guide, while making allocation for the developmental sector, the government has to set aside funds for such sectors like education, health, water supply and sanitation, welfare of scheduled castes and tribes, labour welfare, nutrition, agriculture and rural development, irrigation and flood control, energy, industry and mines and science and technology.
On the other hand, the funds allocated for non-developmental sector go towards the payment of mainly interest on loans taken by the government, payment of public debts, pension and other retirement benefits, and so on.
Interestingly, developmental expenditure is shown to have grown by a whopping 21.79% in the outgoing financial year, 2017-18 (as against 2.46% in the new financial year). However, even here, in 2017-18, the non-developmental expenditure is expected to rise by an even proportion – 26.69%.
The budget papers further show that the percentage growth in the funds available for developmental expenditure is the lowest in 2018-19 in four years. Thus, while it is estimated to grow by 21.79% in 2017-18, it rose by 4.32% in 2016-17, and 4.84% in 2015-16. This is against 26.69% rise in non-developmental expenditure in 2017-18, 13.38% in 2016-17 and 17.95% in 2015-16.
The sharp deceleration in the growth of developmental expenditure comes amidst the Gujarat government’s budgetary papers claiming that they account for 61.06% of the total budget size – Rs 1,11,564.97 crore out of Rs 1,82,728.16 crore.

Ironically, previous budgetary papers show that the deceleration in the proportion of allocation towards developmental expenditure began with the budget for 2017-18, which was presented in the state assembly a year ago. Thus, the developmental expenditure in 2017-18 is 60.50% of the total budget, almost equal to the budget for 2018-19, but it was 67.60% in 2016-17, 70.42%, 70.42% in 2015-16, and 70.90% in 2014-15.
Notably, the Gujarat government, while calculating the developmental expenditure, does not just include allocation for making the socio-economic sector life of the people more robust than what it has been in Gujarat, considering the state’s poor rating in the social sector.
It seeks to divide developmental expenditure under two heads – revenue and capital. As one financial analyst put it, an expenditure which neither creates assets nor reduces liability is called revenue expenditure”, and includes payment of salaries of employees and subsidies. These expenditures are financed out of revenue receipts, and are considered the first priority.
As for capital expenditure it either creates an asset (e.g., school building) and purchase of land, buildings, machinery, investment in shares, loans by Central government to state government, and so on.
In the state budget for 2018-19, while the revenue expenditure for the developmental sector is put at Rs 82,443.37 crore, on the capital side it is just 29,121.60 crore. Capital expenditure, which would show infrastructure development, physical or social, and is considered necessary for growth, forms only 26.01% of the total Rs 1,11,564.97 crore developmental expenditure.

Comments

When Pakistanis whispered: ‘end military rule’ — A Moscow memoir

During the recent anti-terror operation inside Pakistan by the Government of India, called Operation Sindoor — a name some feminists consider patently patriarchal, even though it’s officially described as a tribute to the wives of the 26 husbands killed in the terrorist strike — I was reminded of my Moscow stint, which lasted for seven long years, from 1986 to 1993.

Ahmedabad's civic chaos: Drainage woes, waterlogging, and the illusion of Olympic dreams

In response to my blog on overflowing gutter lines at several spots in Ahmedabad's Vejalpur, a heavily populated area, a close acquaintance informed me that it's not just the middle-class housing societies that are affected by the nuisance. Preeti Das, who lives in a posh locality in what is fashionably called the SoBo area, tells me, "Things are worse in our society, Applewood."

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

RP Gupta a scapegoat to help Govt of India manage fallout of Adani case in US court?

RP Gupta, a retired 1987-batch IAS officer from the Gujarat cadre, has found himself at the center of a growing controversy. During my tenure as the Times of India correspondent in Gandhinagar (1997–2012), I often interacted with him. He struck me as a straightforward officer, though I never quite understood why he was never appointed to what are supposed to be top-tier departments like industries, energy and petrochemicals, finance, or revenue.

Environmental report raises alarm: Sabarmati one of four rivers with nonylphenol contamination

A new report by Toxics Link , an Indian environmental research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi, in collaboration with the Environmental Defense Fund , a global non-profit headquartered in New York, has raised the alarm that Sabarmati is one of five rivers across India found to contain unacceptable levels of nonylphenol (NP), a chemical linked to "exposure to carcinogenic outcomes, including prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women."

PharmEasy: The only online medical store which revises prices upwards after confirming the order

For senior citizens — especially those without a family support system — ordering medicines online can be a great relief. Shruti and I have been doing this for the last couple of years, and with considerable success. We upload a prescription, receive a verification call from a doctor, and within two or three days, the medicines are delivered to our doorstep.

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Revisiting Gijubhai: Pioneer of child-centric education and the caste debate

It was Krishna Kumar, the well-known educationist, who I believe first introduced me to the name — Gijubhai Badheka (1885–1939). Hailing from Bhavnagar, known as the cultural capital of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, Gijubhai, Kumar told me during my student days, made significant contributions to the field of pedagogy — something that hasn't received much attention from India's education mandarins. At that time, Kumar was my tutorial teacher at Kirorimal College, Delhi University.

A sector under siege? War and real estate: Navigating uncertainty in India's expanding market

I was a little surprised when I received an email alert from a top real estate consultant, Anarock Group , titled "Exploring War’s Effects on Indian Real Estate—When Conflict Meets Concrete," authored by its regional director and head of research, Dr. Prashant Thakur. I had thought that the business would wholeheartedly support what is considered a strong response to the dastardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Operation Sindoor.

Search This Blog