No new taxes in Akhilesh's maiden UP budget

Lucknow, June 1 (IANS) Presenting his maiden budget Friday amid uproar and a walkout by the main opposition Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav announced that there would be no new taxes in the 2012-13 budget.

Terming it as a budget that would fulfil public aspirations, the chief minister also announced a provision of Rs.500 crore to waive off loans to farmers.

The budget has projected a deficit of Rs.21,570.26 crore and pegged total receipts at Rs.1,94,327.28 crore. Besides, a provision of Rs.1,100 crore has been made for disbursement of unemployment allowance to the unemployed aged between 30 to 40 years.

The budget has earmarked Rs.2,721.24 crore for providing free laptops and tablets to high school and intermediate-pass students.

The Kanya Vidyadhan Scheme, which was discontinued by the previous BSP government, will be relaunched, and Rs.446 crore have been marked for it. Provision has also been made for improving roads and other infrastructure in old Lucknow.

A provision of Rs.350 crore for the Kisan Accident Insurance Scheme has been made in the budget and adequate arrangements for resources to meet the increased size of the budget. This includes 22 percent increase in the state's tax revenue as compared to last year.

The year 2012-13 being the first year of the 12th Five-Year Plan, the present budget includes 280 new schemes worth Rs.13,650.36 crore.

A provision of Rs.23,591.72 crore for development and strengthening infrastructure schemes has been made in the 2012-13 budget, which is seven percent more than the previous year.