Of the Rs 1.21 lakh-crore Budget for 2015-16, nearly 25 per cent has been allocated to the education and energy sectors. Education has got Rs 22,000 crore, while the energy sector has been given Rs 8,500 crore. The social welfare sector has been allocated Rs 8,000 crore.
The state government said it was “forced to cut its expenditure in road construction, agriculture, health, etc, “due to the cuts in Centrally-sponsored schemes”.
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The road construction sector has been allotted Rs 5,795 crore for the next financial year, compared with Rs 10,190 crore in the current year. Yadav, however, separately allotted Rs 6,811 crore for rural roads. The state government will spend Rs 2,311 crore on agriculture. While the health department has been given Rs 5,000 crore to build new hospitals in rural areas, the rural development department has got Rs 5,216 crore to pay increased wages for welfare programmes such as the rural employment scheme.
While the Finance Bill is yet to presented in the Assembly, sources said value-added tax is expected to increase. E-commerce goods might also be taxed to generate extra income and protect local retailers. The state government announced it would construct at least two toilets in every school by
August 15. It also said it would build 1,000 km roads and a new six-lane bridge over Ganga. In rural areas, the government plans to construct 4,000 km of pucca roads. Also on the cards are 25,000 new classrooms. The government also plans free wi-fi hot-spots in Patna.