A revenue surplus budget of Rs 53,927 crore was on Thursday presented in the Bihar assembly by the deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi. Presenting the budget Modi,who also holds the Finance portfolio said the surlpus budget had been presented despite an additional burden of Rs 5,000 crore due to implementation of Sixth pay Commission recommendations and massive drought and floods. The reduction in state's share in Central taxes due to economic slowdown too impacted the figures,Modi said. The deputy CM told the House that "revenue surplus will be used for investment in physical infrastructure and generating productive capital assets like roads,buildings,power,schools,health centres,irrigation and other schemes". Bihar is one of the few states that had taken its fiscal responsibility seriously and implemented the FRBM Act.we are again likely to generate a revenue surplus and the fiscal deficit is likely to be contained at 2.73 per cent of state GDP (within the FRBM limit of 3 per cent),he added. By the end of 2009-10,the fiscal deficit estimated at 6.6 per cent would be contained at 4 per cent in line with the revised FRBM limit prescribed by the Centre for the year 2009-10,the deputy CM said. "The state government is sincerely maintaining sound fiscal management inspite of the size of its plan outlay of Rs 20,000 crore," Modi said. The state had created a "sinking fund" with RBI for repayment of loans that provides interest on investments. Till 2009-10 a sum of Rs 280 crore had been deposited in the fund that would help the government at the time of "crisis to meet the debt obligations",he said. He said that total non-plan expenditure for the year 2010-11 was estimated at Rs 29,683 crore,whereas the total non-plan expenditure for 2009-10 was estimated at Rs 28,020 crore,an increase of Rs 1663 crore from the previous year.
