The Hindu : Front Page : No new taxes in budget

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jan 21, 2006

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Front Page

No new taxes in budget

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: Finance Minister C. Ponnaiyan on Friday proposed no new taxes for a third year in succession in his interim budget presented in the Assembly.

He predicted that the economy was "poised to register a growth rate in excess of eight per cent at constant prices during 2005-06."

The deficit budget has a substantial allocation for the social safety net (Rs. 8117.51 crore) and witnesses a huge jump in annual plan outlay to Rs.11,709 crore.

The State has exceeded the performance targets set out in each of the annual plan outlays since 2002-03. "I am confident that Tamil Nadu will outperform the Tenth Plan outlay of Rs.40,000 core by the close of the plan period," said Mr. Ponnaiyan.

"Revival of the farm economy has been accorded the highest priority by this Government. The total outlay for agriculture in the interim budget for 2006-07 has been fixed at Rs. 861.23 crore... This Government has proposed a follow-on project [to Water Resources Consolidation Project] named the Irrigated Agriculture Modernisation and Water Resources Management Project with an outlay of Rs. 3,900 crore for funding to the World Bank. This project is now reaching the final stages of sanction," said Mr. Ponnaiyan.

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