`2,30,825.96 cr IS THE SIZE OF TS’ 2021-22 BUDGET. THE GOVT PLANS TO AUGMENT ITS REVENUES, FOR WHICH IT MAY INCREASE THE MARKET VALUE OF LAND AND STAMP DUTY. THE THIRD MAJOR SOURCE OF REVENUE WOULD BE OVER `45,000 CR BORROWINGS. HERE’S A GLIMPSE INTO TS’ COFFERS IN NEED OF A MIRACLE HYDERABAD  FRIDAY  MARCH 19, 2021  `7.00  PAGES 28  LATE CITY EDITION Harish presents ambitious Budget of over `2 lakh cr for the first time since TS’ formation Revenue Receipts 1,76,126 How TS realises the revenue, as it mostly depends on Central grants-in-aid, is to be seen HOPE OVER MATH INSIDE Capital Expenditure 29,046 Net-Deficit 849 Loans and Advances 23,256 As Harish Rao could not fulfil the assurances given in his first Budget, he said these would be implemented this time. The unfulfilled assurances include 2BHKs and farm loan waiver Public Debt Repayment 9,139 BUDGET SIZE Capital expenditure `45,509.60 cr KEY REVENUE RECEIPTS Share of Central taxes Stamps and Registration `13,990.13 cr Taxes on sales, trade `12,500 cr Grants-in-aid and contribution `26,500 cr  Taxes on vehicles `5,000 cr `38,669.46 crore  `250 cr for development works in Warangal Corporation, Devpt expenditure Agriculture School education Higher education Irrigation MAUD Health Power Industries Roads & Buildin Home (IN ` CRORE) 8,788 3,077 3,494 20-21 21-22 20-21 21-22 1,873 3,498 6,295 5,852 10,416 15,030 14,809 20-21 21-22 6,186 11,054 20-21 21-22 11,735 1,723 20-21 21-22 20-21 21-22 Chief Minister KCR is himself a farmer. He understands their difficulties. He has instilled self-confidence in farmers through schemes such as Rythu Bandhu and Bima 10,421 16,931 `50,000 cr `1,329.74 cr 20-21 21-22 ALLOCATIONS  `1,450 cr: Diverting Krishna water from Sunkishala to Hyderabad for drinking water  She Toilets in universities: `10 cr survey: `400 cr `5,225 cr Crop loan waiver for this year  MLA/MLC constituency development funds: `800 cr  Mandal parishads to 6,465 `1,22,291.76 cr 20-21 21-22 20-21 21-22 `17,594.38 cr scheme: `250 cr get `252 cr funds Tax collection charges 11,046 Debt services  Free drinking water  Zilla Parishads to KEY REVENUE EXPENDITURES Modi said, “BJP believes in DBT, which stands for direct bank REVIVING the BJP’s nationalism transfer, whereas Didi believes in plank, Prime Minister Narendra TMC, which is transfer my comModi on Thursday cited the Pul- mission. TMC’s days are numwama terror attack in J&K and bered in Bengal.” the subsequent airstrike deep inReferring to the foot injury side Pakistan’s Balakot to put Mamata sustained while on her West Bengal Chief Minister campaign trail in Nandigram, the Mamata Banerjee on the back PM said, “Like millions of other foot for criticising the women, for me, Didi is Army earlier. also a daughter of the naModi also recalled tion. When she got inMamata pitching the jured, I was worried. I Batla House shootout in pray for her speedy 2008 as a fake encounter, recovery .” a narrative that was neReferring to the khela gated by a Delhi court hobe (there will be a convicting a terrorist game) one-liner Mamata and awarding capital is making at every pubpunishment in the case lic rally Modi said, “Didi , recently “The people of . bole khela hobe, BJP bole The Trinamool Bengal have not forgot- has created a new chaakri hobe. Didi bole ten who you stood with khela hobe, BJP bole breed of Maoists after the Pulwama attack shiksha hobe. Didi bole in Bengal who and criticised the Army loot public money. khela hobe, BJP bole vi. No one has forgotten kas hobe. Khela sesh The money is meant for poor how Mamata Didi and a hobe, vikas aarambh people. Didi’s few other parties reacted hobe (Didi says there will government has when the Batla House be a game. BJP says, encounter took place. patronised Maoist there will be employviolence These people stood with ment, education, develthe terrorists at that opment and education. Narendra Modi, PM time and raised quesThe game will be over tions on the encounter. A court and development will begin.” recently convicted one of the terAsserting that the Trinamool rorists and sentenced him to capi- would never allow the enumeratal punishment,’’ said Modi, while tion of the National Population addressing a rally in Junglema- Register in Bengal, Mamata said, hal’s Purulia district. “The BJP will omit names of votTurning to the alleged extor- ers if they are not found at home tion and cut money issues that during the visit of enumerators. have smeared the reputation of But we will not allow them to do the ruling Trinamool Congress, the exercise in Bengal.” Programme: `1,000 cr  Comprehensive digital land Fiscal deficit `6,743.50 cr  State Excise `17,000 cr Modi’s nationalism pitch to attack Mamata  CM Dalit Empowerment shepherds: `3,000 cr REVENUE EXPENDITURE Revenue surplus `29,046.77 cr ILLUSTRATION: AMIT BANDRE sport. Despite this, Harish Rao presented a `2,30,825.96-crore Budget for 2021-22. Confident of the State’s tax buoyancy the Min, ister announced several new schemes for education to provide basic amenities at government schools and others this time. If, for any reason, the estimated revenues is not realised and if the Centre does not release the funds as expected, the welfare programmes will be in a soup. The proposed new plans may take a back seat in such an eventuality . New education scheme to augment basic amenities in schools  Distribution of 3 lakh sheep to `1,69,383.44 cr govt is estimated to spend on welfare, subsidies and schemes such as Aasara, Rythu Bandh and Rythu Bima. Allocation for unemployment allowance was absent in Budget `2,000 cr `150 cr for Khammam UNKEPT PROMISES INDUSTRIAL SECTOR WELCOMES ‘PRAGMATIC AND BOLD’ BUDGET I P2 P R O N A B M O N D A L @ Kolkata Revenue Expenditure 1,69,383 25,305 25,000 S UCCINCTLY put, Finance Minister T Harish Rao’s Budget for 2021-22 is one born out of hope than conviction. Better days are likely as the Covid-19 pandemic retreats and the possibility of cash registers ringing to meet people’s ever-rising expectations -- mostly farmers, the disadvantaged sections and those seeking double bedroom houses -- increase as it is the government’s commitment to them. The hope has made Harish Rao bolder as he presented his second but quite an ambitious budget on Thursday in the Assembly, stretching its size to more than `2 lakh crore for the first time after the State’s formation. The key takeaways from the Budget are development and welfare. But, on closer scrutiny one may , wonder as to how the government would be able realise the estimated revenue since it mostly depends on the Central grants-inaid, on which the Central government itself is non-committal. The grant-in-aid in the 2020-21 Budget is `10,525 crore, but the State government expects it to be about `38,669.46 crore in the Budget 2021-22, a quantum jump. “As the Central government has to share `70,000 crore GST with States, we expect our share of the pie from this. Besides, the State is expecting to get IGST share, funds under the Jala Jeevan Mission and other schemes,” sources in the Finance Department said. Besides, the State government also plans to augment its revenues, for which it may increase the market value of land and stamp duty. The third major source of revenue would be over `45,000 crore borrowings. In fact, the size of the 2020-21 Budget shrank from `1.82 lakh crore to `1.5 lakh crore in the revised estimates due Covid-19 playing spoil- Public Account net 4,500 ■ NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS Public Debt 49,300 20-21 21-22 V V B A L A K R I S H N A @Hyderabad Loan Recoveries 50 CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOGGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ WARANGAL ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI ■ Harish Rao, Finance Minister get `248 cr funds 84 pages in 96 mins Harish sets record Finance Minister T Harish Rao’s second Budget speech, delivered in the State Assembly on Thursday, has become the longest one, since the formation of Telangana. He delivered an 84-page speech in 96 minutes, without taking any break. However, he could not beat the record set by former united Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister K Rosaiah. State’s outstanding public debt estimated at `2.86 lakh crore EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Hyderabad THE TS government’s estimated outstanding public debt will be `2,86,804.64 crore, according to the Budget Estimates of 2021-22. The outstanding debts in 2019-20 was `2,05,858.33 crore but the revised estimates are `2,45,282.19 crore. According to the Statement of Fiscal Policy tabled in the Assembly on Thursday “The main objective , of debt management in the State is to ensure that the financing of the Budget and refinancing of the debt is done at the lowest possible cost in medium to long term, all within prudent limits of risk... The HARISH’S MASSIVE BUDGET OUTLAY IGNORES GHMC, HMDA, HRDCL I P3 State government has been raising debts from the market with a tenure of even 40 years, within the borrowing limits set under the FRBM Act. The possibilities of raising money through extra-budgetary sources will also be explored to supplement the resources of the State for investments in capital assets. Thus, the strat- REVENUE FROM EXCISE ON A HIGH, LIKELY TO CROSS `17,000 CR I P4 Ex-CEA quits, pressure builds up on Univ expected that the revenues will improve. With this, the government is unlikely to face any problems in servicing the debts. The FRBM Act stipulates to limit the amount of annual incremental risk weighted guarantees to 200 per cent of the total revenue receipts in the last fiscal. The guarantees are within these limits. HEALTH SHARE FALLS BELOW 3% DESPITE SECOND WAVE FEARS I P5 TRS LEADS IN 2 MLC SEATS BUT FAR FROM 50% MARK EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi THE faculty and students at the Ashoka University issued strong statements in support of political commentator Pratap Bhanu Mehta, who resigned from the university two days ago citing infringement on academic freedom, and demanded that the institution ask him to join back. A day after Mehta’s exit, economist and for mer chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian put in his papers. “That someone of such integrity and eminence, who embodied the vision underlying Ashoka, felt compelled to leave is troubling,” he said in his resignation letter . Mehta, who quit as vicechancellor two years ago, in an email to his students on Wednesday evening — a day after he resigned — had hinted that a discussion with the university regarding the “prevailing circumstances” led to his exit. “The decision to leave was not an easy one, especially because of the exceptional quality of students I have been privileged to teach. But after discussions with the university about the prevailing circumstances, it became clear to me that it was best to move CONTINUED ON P8 on.” egy is to explore raising borrowings for productive investments within prudent limits.” All the borrowings are being utilised for capital expenditure, which will result in income-generating assets and more income to the people, it stated. Through higher expenditure by the people, it is @ Hyderabad Uncertain prospects unfold in constituencies TRS leaders are sitting tight and keeping their fingers crossed as to how the result would pan out. Political observers say that since the second preference votes are usually against the ruling party’s candidate, even though in both constituencies they are ahead of others and yet way below the magic 50 percentage mark, the verdict could go either way. The final result would take time as large-sized ballot papers and jumbo ballot boxes were used for polling. Also, the counting staff have to record the preferences of all voters IT is a see-saw battle for the main contenders of the two graduates MLC seats as counting of votes continues painfully slowly As the . model of election is by proportional representation, it is not clear as to who will have the last laugh. If no one gets the first preference votes of more than 50 per cent of the total votes polled, the second preferences will have to be counted. Many political observers say that since the second preference votes would be usually against the ruling party’s candidate, even though in both constituencies they are ahead of others and yet way below the magic 50 percentage mark, the verdict could go either way . In the HyderabadRangareddy-Mahbubnagar (HRM) a n d Wa r a n g a l Khammam-Nalgonda (WKN) Graduates constituencies, till reports last came in, TRS candidates Surabhi Vani Devi and Palla Rajeshwar Reddy are ahead of their rivals in the first preference votes but are still far from the 50 per cent mark. Vani Devi’s rivals are sitting MLC N Ramachander Rao (BJP), Prof K Nageshwar (Independent) and G Chinna Reddy (Cong) while Rajeshwar Reddy is battling it out with Teenmaar Mallanna (Ch Navin), Telangana Jana Samiti’s M Kodandaram and BJP’s G Premendar Reddy . It is possible that the second preference votes, which would be counted if no one gets a majority, might go to a non-TRS candidate, in which case the pink party’s boat would be rocked. Meanwhile, the pink party leaders are sitting tight and keeping their fingers crossed as to how the result would pan out. JUDICIAL SENSITIVITY HC faces SC ire over rakhi-for-bail K A N U S A R D A @ New Delhi T E R M I N G t h e M a d hy a Pradesh High Court order last year that had asked a man accused of sexual assault to have a rakhi tied by the victim to get bail, as a judicial stereotype, the Supreme Court on Thursday set it aside and issued a slew of guidelines on gender sensitivity in judicial approach. A bench comprising justices A M Khanwilkar and S Ravindra Bhatt said, “Judges play — at all levels — a vital role as teachers and thought leaders. It is their role to be impartial in words and action, at all times. If they falter, especially in gender related crimes, they imperil fairness and inflict great cruelty in the casual blindness to the despair of the survivors.” The judgment came on a plea filed by nine woman lawyers who had challenged the high court’s directive saying such bail orders have the effect of trivialising sexual offences. “Using rakhi tying as a condition for bail, transforms a molester into a brother, by a judicial mandate,” the judgment read. “This is wholly unacceptable, and has the effect of diluting and eroding the offence of sexual harassment. The act perpetrated on the survivor constitutes an offence in law,” the 24-page judgment stated. HIGHEST ONE-DAY SPIKE IN MAHA SINCE LAST YEAR State recorded 25,833 new Covid cases. With the caseload mounting, Modi urged Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray to ramp up testing P8