AGARTALA, April 26 � Tripura Finance Minister Badal Chowdhury on Friday tabled a tax free deficit budget of Rs 9,416.49 crore for the 2013-14 financial year, in the Assembly.
Though the Minister did not propose any new tax, the budget showed a deficit of Rs 205.39 crore for 2013-14 fiscal.
The deficit will be minimised by better realisation of government resources, austerity measures and increasing fund inflow in different Central Government schemes.
While tabling the budget, Chowdhury regretted that despite repeated requests to the Centre for a special package to the State to get over the impact of the adverse award of the 13th Finance Commission, the Central Government did not come forward with any special package.
�It is hoped that the 14th Finance Commission would adequately address the concerns of the State so that it would be able to remove the disparities in the pay scales of State Government employees�, he said.
Chowdhury said the Credit Deposit Ratio (CDR) in Tripura has continued to be very low. �Despite direction from the RBI Governor to achieve at least 40 per cent CDR, it continues to remain at 33 per cent as on March 31, 2013. There is a need to improve the CDR to 50 per cent to ensure adequate credit flow�, he pointed out.
On the mushrooming of Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), he said the State Government has enacted the Tripura Protection of Interests of Depositors� (in Financial Establishments) Act 2000 for protecting the interests of the depositors in the NBFCs. �Many of the NBFCs and chit fund companies were registered outside the State and hence beyond the regulatory powers of the State Government�, he said.
Chowdhury in his budget speech urged the Centre to enact a comprehensive legislation for monitoring and control the NBFCs for protection of investors.
Literally slamming the Centre for turning blind eye on the unemployment problem, he made it clear the Left Front Government would continue with need based fresh recruitments in the various government departments.
