Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu presented the annual state Budget of Rs58,444 crore for 2024-25 with a focus on the agriculture and rural sectors, and announced an increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for milk.
Budget
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu presented the annual state Budget of Rs58,444 crore for 2024-25 with a focus on the agriculture and rural sectors, and announced an increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for milk. The government did not propose any new tax for the next fiscal. Presenting his second state Budget, Sukhu, who also holds the finance portfolio, announced a hike in MSP of cow milk from Rs 38 to Rs 45 per litre and buffalo milk from Rs 47 to Rs 55 per litre. Himachal is the first state to give MSP on milk. The rural-oriented Budget focused on strengthening farming and animal husbandry sectors, besides announcing steps to make the state self-reliant. The revenue receipts and expenditure are estimated at Rs 42,153 crore and Rs 46,667 crore, respectively, implying that the estimated revenue loss will be Rs 4,514 crore. The fiscal deficit was estimated at Rs 10,784 crore that was 4.75 percent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). Of every Rs100 expenditure, Rs 25 would be spent on salaries, Rs 17 on pension, Rs 11 on interest, Rs 9 on loan repayment, and Rs 10 on grants to autonomous institutions and only Rs 28 would be spent on other activities an capital works. The CM also announced increasing the daily wages of MGNREGA workers by Rs60 from Rs 240 to Rs300 per day and increase the honorarium of functionaries of panchayati raj institutions and urban local bodies. The government proposed to increase MLA discretionary grant from Rs 13 lakh to Rs 14 lakh and 'Vidhayak Kshetra Vikas Nidhi Yojana' from Rs 2.10 crore to 2.20 crore.
Capitals- Shimla (Summer), Dharamshala (Winter)
Governor- Shiv Pratap Shukla
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