JAIPUR: Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Friday presented a surplus budget for the year 2007-08 even while announcing a slew of new schemes and programmes, targeting women and weaker sections. The budget provides tax concessions worth Rs.60 crore, which is balanced by additional income expected from new tax proposals.

The new schemes are to cost Rs.1,200 crore against which a provision of Rs.1,251 crore has been made. The announcements include creation of a new district in the tribal-dominated south-west Rajasthan with Pratapgarh as headquarters, raising of an all-women armed corps named Haldi Rani Armed Corps, and an unemployment allowance for all graduates registered with the employment exchange.

The 140-minute-long speech, by Ms. Raje, who also holds the Finance portfolio, projected a budgetary surplus of Rs.358.95 crore for 2007-08. The State's estimated revenue surplus is Rs.214.77 crore and the capital surplus Rs.144.18 crore. There is still a fiscal deficit, estimated at Rs.5, 321.52 crore. A revenue surplus of Rs.96.45 crore was reported for the first time in the State after 1991-92, in 2006-07, it was pointed out.

The presentation of the budget was a smooth affair, going by the stormy sittings the House had witnessed ever since the start of the session on March 1. The ruling party members thumped the desks in appreciation of the announcements while Opposition members rose to protest only on a few occasions. The Women's Day, observed a day before coinciding with Ms. Raje's own birthday, seemingly had a benign impact on the Budget. Ms. Raje conceded that the Value Added Tax system, introduced in April 2006, a year later in the BJP-ruled States than others, was doing well in Rajasthan. Following the introduction of VAT the State's revenue increased by 20 per cent in the current fiscal.

The announcements included a new "VAT Dhan Laxmi" which would offer prizes after drawing lots from VAT paid cash memos of Rs.100 and above.

The incentives include composition scheme for lubricants, fan belts and yellow cloth sold at petrol pumps, reduction in mandi tax on vegetables and herbs from 1.6 per cent to 0.5 per cent, VAT exemption for bio-diesel made from Jatropha seeds, reduction in VAT rates on parts and accessories of agriculture sprayers, gelatin and capsules made from it, toluene, o-xylene and mix-xylene and the chemicals used as industrial inputs. Unstitched bed sheets have been exempted from VAT while umbrellas and their parts have been exempted from CST.

The budget proposals have brought down the VAT rate on gold and silver "vark", on woven lapel tapes, elastics and packing material used by exporters. Entertainment tax on cinema halls has been reduced from 50 per cent to 30 per cent while recognized tour operators will get 50 per cent rebate on special road tax on contract carriages owned and operated by them.

The fresh tax proposals include a luxury tax on banquet halls, marriage and party places, second hand cars and other motor vehicles— in the form of 4 per cent value addition— and construction equipment vehicles spending 30 days in Rajasthan. The stamp duty payable on gift deeds in favour of relatives has been reduced to 50 per cent. The Congress and Left parties dismissed the budget as "directionless" and said most of the announcements were made on the strength of Centre-sponsored schemes.

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