Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said states pushed for boosting the beleaguered farm sector in the upcoming Budget. The Centre also wants to help agriculture, he added.
Briefing reporters after pre-Budget interactions with the states, he said states are competing with each other for higher resources.
Sources said that states also demanded that funding pattern of some important centrally-sponsored schemes, such as those relating to education and health, be retained.
Additionally, while Bihar expressed its demand for special category status for itself, Delhi asked Jaitley for a hike in duties on diesel-run cars.