1 1. Hon’ble Speaker Sir, with your permission, I rise to present the Budget proposals for 2018-19 before this August House. This is the first time that the Budget of our State is being presented in this State of the Art Assembly Complex, which is a true embodiment of our temple of democracy. 2. A few weeks ago, we had in our midst Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modiji, who was received with much love and affection by the people of Arunachal Pradesh. His inspiring leadership has been a source of strength not only for our Government but for the whole North-Eastern Region. We are fortunate that during this period, our State has been led by our young and dynamic Chief Minister, Shri Pema Khandu, whose modern and progressive approach to governance is a refreshing change. 3. Arunachal Pradesh has always been a shining example of unity in diversity where people of 26 tribes and hundreds of sub-tribes have lived in perfect harmony with each other over centuries. All of us present in this August House today are representing the collective aspirations of our communities, each with a distinct cultural ethos and a unique history. Yet, collectively we have always taken pride in our shared identity as Arunachali’s who are first and foremost proud Indian citizens. 4. For far too long the people of this beautiful State have been deprived of the fruits of development. Geographical isolation has been our biggest bane and decades of indifference and neglect on part of the Central Government has created a deep developmental divide. For long the voices of our tribal brethren have gone unheeded. Even today, we grapple with the challenge of providing good quality connectivity even in several of our district headquarters. People in remote rural areas struggle for access to quality drinking water, access to quality education for children and to facilities of health care. It is indeed ironical that after seven decades of independence, our people have been struggling for basic amenities, which are essential for a dignified human existence. Speaker Sir, 5. Hon’ble Prime Minister has urged the nation that the time for incremental change is over and we must now move into a phase of decisive and transformational change. It is a call for action to all members of this August Budget Speech of Shri Chowna Mein, Dy. Chief Minister and Minister In-Charge Finance, March 12, 2018. 2 House to collectively apply our minds and contribute with constructive deliberations to bring about enduring change. All of us have witnessed the seriousness of unprecedented engagement of the Union Government in our state. Every month, we receive Union Ministers and Secretaries to Government of India, who review programs and projects and collectively help us find solutions. We must seize this historical moment of opportunity with open hearts and ensure that we build a new Arunachal. Our Chief Minister has given us the talisman of “Team Arunachal” which embraces in its fold all people of the state: the young and the old, the rich and the poor, the rural and the urban masses, the Opposition and the Treasury Benches. In the last one and a half years, we have endeavoured to set an agenda of change, which resonates with hope and voices the collective aspirations of thousands of our youth. Speaker Sir, 6. The Annual Budget exercise gives us an opportunity to present our report card to the people who reposed trust in us and also to share with them through this house the blueprint of development for the coming year. In the ultimate analysis, at the heart of all development lies a policy of efficient resource planning and expenditure management. Last year we brought out sweeping and comprehensive reforms in the financial management of the state which ensured that we end the financial year with positive cash balances and low fiscal deficit. This year, we introduced a system of predictable resource allocations which were made available to the Departments in the beginning of the year. Transparency in public spending is an important goal for our Government. We have introduced the Public Financial Management System for expenditure management of all Centrally Sponsored Schemes. This has brought in great transparency and efficiency in management of Centrally Sponsored Schemes and ensured timely releases of resources. For the first time in the history of our state, we have seen Direct Benefit Transfer schemes being rolled out in the state inspite of the challenges of digital connectivity. This year nearly Rs. 700 crore was transferred on the PFMS platform to various departments and nearly 18000 beneficiaries and vendors have Budget Speech of Shri Chowna Mein, Dy. Chief Minister and Minister In-Charge Finance, March 12, 2018. 3 been given money directly into their bank accounts. In the coming year, we shall be deepening this process and making the use of Public Financial Management System (PFMS) mandatory for all Centrally Sponsored Schemes and beneficiary oriented state schemes will also be brought on the PFMS platform. Speaker Sir, 7. The Gross State Domestic Product is estimated to be Rs. 24,624 crore in 2017-18 growing from a level of Rs. 22,099 crore in 2016-17 showing an annual growth of 11.4% .The primary sector remains the dominant contributor to the economy at 42.44% of GSDP at constant prices, while the tertiary sector contributed to 34.42% of GSDP. Clearly, investments in the primary sector must engage our priority attention. 8. I would like to share with this August House the resource position of the state and the projections for the coming financial year. The Share of Central taxes grew from actual receipt of Rs. 8338.30 crore in 2016-17 to Rs. 9238.79 crore in revised estimates of 2017-18. The state’s own tax revenue in the Revised Estimates of 2017-18 is Rs. 899.19 crore as against actual receipt of Rs. 708.75 crore in 2016-17, growing at 26%. Nearly 94.92% of the tax revenue was collected by the Tax and Excise department. The non- tax revenue receipt in the revised estimates of 2017-18 is estimated at Rs. 699.30 crore as against an actual collection of Rs. 544.82 crore in 2016-17, showing a growth of almost 28%. The total tax and non-tax revenue of the state in 2017-18 was Rs. 1598.49 crore as against the actual receipt of Rs. 1253.57 crore in 2016-17. 9. In the budget estimates of 2018-19, we are projecting a revenue receipt of Rs. 17590.30 crore and a capital receipt of Rs. 1671.00 crore, making the total receipts of Rs. 19261.30 crore as against total receipt of Rs. 17348.54 crore in revised estimates of 2017-18. Our share of Central taxes has been pegged at a level of Rs. 10798.47 crore as per the Union Budget 2018-19 and this represents the biggest source of resource for us. We have projected states own tax revenue to be at a level of Rs. 1100.00 crore. The non-tax revenue projection for 2018-19 has been pegged at Rs. 800.00 crore. Budget Speech of Shri Chowna Mein, Dy. Chief Minister and Minister In-Charge Finance, March 12, 2018. 4 10. Last year, Arunachal Pradesh, along with the rest of the country joined the unified Goods and Services Tax regime, which has subsumed most of the indirect taxes. This step has finally converted India into a unified market based on a principle of One Nation One Tax. In Arunachal Pradesh the GST roll out has seen an increase in the number of dealers registered with the taxation department from 6102 to 10304 within one year, marking an increase of 68 %, which is a significant achievement. I am confident that in the coming year, we will be able to effectively implement the GST system and plug all revenue leakages. A state wide area network will be established for GST implementation through IT department. A sum of Rs. 10 crore is proposed to be earmarked for this purpose. Speaker Sir, 11. There is an urgent need to rationalize the administration of the Excise duty regime. We propose to introduce an online portal for excise duty payments and rationalize the chain of excise duty management. Further, I propose to introduce a cess of 10% on the wholesale price of alcohol inclusive of VAT, with effect from April 1, 2018 and create a separate corpus to finance the new interventions in the Health and Education sectors. It is my expectation that this will create an additional resource window of nearly Rs. 45 crore for financing new programs in these crucial sectors. 12. It has now become an imperative to enhance the states own resources. For this purpose, we shall be setting up a Revenue and Cash Management Cell within Finance department which would regularly monitor the revenue realizations from all revenue earning departments through a web portal. Specific targets will be given to each revenue earning unit of all departments and we will introduce a system of rewarding those Officers who exceed targets. 13. In terms of our expenditure strategy, we are committed to meet the fiscal deficit targets laid out in the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2006 and our state had a fiscal deficit of 2.73% of GSDP in revised estimates of 2017-18, which is within the 3% obligation as per the Fiscal Responsibility & Budget Management (FRBM) Act, For the next financial year, we are projecting a fiscal deficit of 2.00% of GSDP.