Chennai: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said that the Centre will not deduce the funds for the states.
“We have no plan to cut the funds for states. We are already giving what the 14th Finance Commission recommended. Now, we will fully honour the report of 15th Finance Commission, ” said the Minister during a press conference in Chennai.
“We will soon return the share of GST to Tamil Nadu in two instalments,” she added.
Regarding the payments to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector, she said, ” During September, October and November, we worked hard to ensure the payments to them are cleared. Nearly 60 per cent of the amount, which was pending, has been cleared.”
Finance Secretary Rajiv Kumar said, “There is a total allocation of Rs 2.83 lakh for agriculture sector. This covers water-deficient districts and others. Over and above, there is an agriculture credit of Rs 15 lakh crore, which is an increase from Rs 12 lakh crore, which was given earlier.”
