Fiscal performance of Odisha shows upward trend

Bhubaneswar: Fiscal performance of Odisha by end of February of the current financial year has shown signs of a positive upward trend with the concurrent increase in both its major indicators like utilization of the budget allocations and revenue generation.

This was known from the review taken by Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi in the all Secretaries meeting held at the secretariat conference hall on Wednesday.

Chief Secretary Padhi directed all departments to expedite the implementation of the projects taken up under non-budgetary sources like DMF along with the budgeted projects.

The departments were asked to ensure 100% initialization of the budgeted funds and make the expenditure outcome oriented.

Development Commissioner R. Balakrishnan advised simplifying the norms regarding the sanction and implementation of the projects of under ‘Connect the Unconnected’ programme of State Government.

Presenting the fiscal updates, Finance secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said, “Total programme expenditure up to February 2018 of the current financial year has increased to Rs 41,236 crore thereby recording a growth of around 11% in comparison to the same period of the FY 2016-17. The total programme utilization up to February 2017 was around Rs. 37143 crore.”

The spending on the social sector has grown by more than 20% and with the total expenditure of Rs. 18621 crore and the spending on infrastructure has grown by 2% and with total utilization of around Rs.10,148 crore. Similarly, utilization under agriculture and allied sector have grown up to Rs.9257 crore.

Keeping tune with the expenditure, the revenue generation from own-tax sources has increased around 29% over the last year till the end of February.  The total collection from own tax sources up to February 2018 has reached around Rs 24568 crore against the total collection of Rs.19099 crore during the same period of 2017.

Similarly, the revenue generation from non-tax sources has recorded an increase of around 9% with the total collection of Rs.6683 crore against the last years’ collection of around Rs 6157 crore.

The total revenue collection from all sources up to February 2018 has grown around 24% with a grand total collection of Rs. 31,251 crore.

“This growth excludes the GST compensation amount of Rs. 1326 crore”, said Pandey.

Beating the slowdown in the world market, the revenue generation from mining sector up to February 2018 has grown around 39% over the last year.

Steel and Mines secretary Raj Kumar Sharma appraised that total collection from mining royalty by end of February was around Rs.5246 crore against that of Rs. 3783 crore during the same period of last year.

The total dispatch of iron ore from the mining sites up to 1st week of March was around 120.63 million ton against the total dispatch of around 112 million ton during 2017.

Similarly, the total production of iron ore up to March 1st week of the current year has been around 99 million ton against the total production of 97 million ton during the same period of last year.

This has been possible because of facilitating policies of the state government and constant follow up at ground level.