In the first allocation of its kind, the budget has put aside Rs. 50 crore for taking up development schemes related to the Christian community.
The government was facing criticism since the church attacks of 2008 and the subsequent report of the controversial Somasekhara panel which was submitted earlier this month. Minorities were offended over the report.
The budget also provided Rs.16 crore for construction and renovation of Wakf Board buildings and Rs. 5 crore for construction of Haj Mahal in Bangalore. The overall allocation for minorities’ development has been increased from Rs 207 crore to Rs 325 crore.
The total outlay for the 2011-12 budget is Rs 85,319 crore — Rs 65,034 crore revenue expenditure and Rs 20,285 capital expenditure. He is expecting Rs. 66,313 crore tax revenue, thus projecting a revenue surplus of Rs 1,278 crore. A bulk of the of capital receipt is expected through borrowing, which will be about Rs 12,500 crore.