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UP’s total outstanding debt shot up by nearly 39% in five years

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The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has been borrowing so heavily from the market that its total outstanding debt has shot up by almost 39 per cent in five years.

However, spending on education declined while spending on health increased only marginally during this period.

What is even more surprising is the fact that in four out of five years, the state government was unable to spend even the full budgeted amount, leading to a revenue surplus.

The full support given to the Yogi Adityanath government by the Narendra Modi government — the so-called ‘double engine’ advantage — also does not seem to have helped, either in terms of finances or in planning.

According to the latest data available with the Reserve Bank of India, which compiles state government finances, the UP government has outstanding liabilities worth as much as Rs 6.5 lakh crore, as estimated in the state Budget for 2021-22.

This is 38.3 per cent more than the Rs 4.7 lakh crore debt it inherited when it took over in 2017.

The bulk of this debt mountain is owed to financial institutions, such as banks. These are called market borrowings and are taken at hefty rates of interest.

According to sources in the state finance department, a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on UP government’s finances, released last month, pointed out that of the total public debt at the end of 2019-20, Rs 1.99 lakh crore (or 47.7 per cent of the total) would be payable after seven years.

The CAG report referred to earlier made a shocking revelation.

The state government transferred a princely sum of Rs 71,000 crore from a sinking fund illegitimately to its “non-tax revenue” head in its books in March 2020. By rules, this should have been invested elsewhere.

The CAG roundly criticised this brazen violation, recommending that “the transfers out of the fund (Sinking Fund) are not to be treated as Revenue Receipts and the amount equivalent to loan repaid should be transferred from Sinking Fund to Major Head 8680 (Miscellaneous Government Account) on redemption of debt”.

The effect of this ‘creative’ book-keeping was that revenue receipts were boosted in the books only, there was no cash actually transferred. This is what caused the next year’s revenue surplus.

It is a common feature for some states to end the year with huge unspent amounts from their budgetary allocations. Poor and backward states are particularly prone to this aberrant thinking. And UP is no exception.

Under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s leadership, four of the five years have seen a revenue surplus adding up to a huge Rs 1.32 lakh crore.

The figure given for 2021-22 is just estimated, presented in the Budget, and the actual amount may be larger. The deficit would have been even bigger but for the illegitimate transfer of sinking fund money to non-tax revenue accounts.

The year 2020-21 was the first year of the Covid pandemic and some extra spending took place. So, the state government ended up actually spending all of its allocated funds, running a small deficit of Rs 13,161 crore.

Despite borrowing Rs 1.8 lakh crore in five years, the state government has ended its term with an accumulated revenue surplus, i.e., unspent funds of Rs 1.32 lakh crore, which indicates bad planning.

Sources said that spending on two crucial sectors – education and health – was important but as a proportion of total revenue expenditure, the share spent on education declined from about 14.8 per cent in 2017-18 to 12.5 per cent in the budget estimates (BE) for the current financial year.

In 2020-21, when students of the state were struggling to keep up with their studies during the pandemic with schools/colleges and hostels closed and online mode was the dominant way of teaching, the state government saved a lot of money when actually more spending was needed to compensate for academic losses being suffered by the students.

In fact, teachers were not paid salaries, staff were denied wages, and mid-day meals were stopped.

Now, with the crucial Assembly elections looming, the government is busy distributing smartphones and tablets.
Even more disturbing is the minuscule increase in the share of health expenditure in total revenue expenditure — from 5.3 per cent in 2017-18 to 5.9 per cent in 2021-22 (BE) — at a time when the pandemic was at its peak.

Reports based on official data show that the healthcare system in UP remained inadequate to deal with the pandemic. All this would have been avoided if more funds had been allocated and applied by the state government.

National News

Shivdeep Lande: Bihar’s Singham IPS Shivdeep Lande resigns from police service, because in bouquet, what to do next?

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Patna: Marathmole IPS officer Shivdeep Lande popularly known as Singham of Bihar has resigned from the police service. Shivdeep Lande gave information about this by sharing a post on social media. In this post, Shivdeep Lande said, “My dear Bihar, I am now resigning from my post after 18 years of service through government posts. Throughout my tenure, I have considered the state of Bihar above myself and above my family. I am sorry if I have missed anything during my service. I have resigned from Indian Police Service. However, I will stay in Bihar. Shivdeep Lande has mentioned in his Facebook post that Bihar will be my Karmabhoomi from now on.

Shivdeep Lande, a 2006 batch IPS officer, was currently a Superintendent in the Bihar Special Task Force. He is well known in Bihar for his fearless work style. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also expressed regret when Shivdeep Lande was transferred to Maharashtra for some time. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar did not want to release Lande. However, Singham Shivdeep Lande was allowed to return to Swagrihi i.e. Maharashtra.

Who is Shivdeep Lande?
Shivdeep Lande, 40, is a 2006 batch IPS officer. Shivdeep has graduated in Electrical Engineering. Shivdeep was born on 29 August 1976 at Badsingi in Buldana district. The house situation is very bad. Shivdeep has an elder sister and a younger brother. Shivdeep’s primary education was done in Zilla Parishad School. He then graduated from Amravati University through government quota in Electronic Engineering. After this, Shivdeep directly reached Mumbai for his job. He worked as a lecturer in engineering college in many colleges in Mumbai. But the desire to do something for the society did not allow him to sit still. So he prepared for UPSC. Shivdeep Lande, who passed UPSC, wanted to become a collector. But due to not getting rank, he had to accept IPS.

First posting
Shivdeep Lande was posted as Superintendent of Police in Jamalpur near Munger, Bihar. This area was known as Naxal infested. This area was known as the area of ​​Naxalites who were firing on the police. It is here that Superintendent of Police Surendra Babu was killed by Naxalites in 2005. So the police were afraid to go to this place. But in the very first appointment, Shivdeep made an impression on his work and won the trust of the locals. Every week they visit the area and meet the locals. So he got the support of the locals. It resulted in a reduction in crime. Shivdeep ended crime in Bihar by carrying out many striking operations. Political pressure was put on them to stop the strike action. He was also transferred. However, Bihari people had come to the streets against Shivdeep’s transfer.

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Crime

Tripura: Police Seize 44 Kg Of Drugs Worth Rs 2.52 Lakh At Agartala Railway Station

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Agartala (Tripura): Agartala Government Railway (GRP) Police seized 44 kg of drugs worth Rs 2.52 lakhs at Agartala Railway Station, railway police said on Tuesday.

About The Seizure

Acting on a tip-off, police on Tuesday conducted a search near the 13th rail track on the Agartala to Jirania route, near Agartala Railway Station. During the operation, authorities recovered 44 kg of dried cannabis from bushes alongside the tracks. The narcotics were allegedly being smuggled out of the state via train.

According to the police, the seized cannabis has an estimated market value of approximately Rs 2.52 lakhs. The Agartala GRP (Government Railway Police) station has launched an investigation to identify the individuals responsible for this illegal consignment. Further action will be taken based on the findings of the investigation.

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National News

Atishi Likely To Address First House Session As Delhi Chief Minister On September 26 And 27

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Delhi: Aam Admi Party leader and the successor of Arvind Kejriwal as the Chief Minister of Delhi, Atishi Marlena Singh, will likely address her first session as the head of the Delhi assembly next Thursday, September 26. The Delhi government has announced a two-day special session on September 26 and 27, as reported by party officials.

Atishi Takes Over After Kejriwal As Delhi CM

The choice to convene a special session aligns with Arvind Kejriwal stepping down as the chief minister and CM-designate Atishi asserting her right to govern. A senior party member mentioned that the meeting’s agenda is still undecided.

When Will Atishi Take Oath As Delhi’s New CM?

Atishi Marlena, the newly appointed Chief Minister of Delhi, has not yet been sworn in. Although the dates haven’t officially been announced yet, as per a few reports, the oath-taking ceremony is scheduled to occur before the Delhi Assembly session. The Speaker’s Office has announced that the Delhi Assembly session is scheduled for September 26 and 27.

Atishi To Address House

Atishi is scheduled to address the house on the challenges confronting Delhi and to assure the path forward. The member stated that it is uncertain if the oath-taking ceremony will be finished by then, as it will rely on the dates given by LG VK Saxena after approval from the President.

SK Sharma, a constitutional expert and a former secretary to the Lok Sabha and the Delhi assembly, said, “The power to appoint minister and chief minister is with the President. The head of legislative group has laid stake to power. Since AAP has brute majority, there should be no hurdle.”

“A date for oath-taking ceremony needs to be fixed, which is at the discretion of the President and LG.” Sharma said.

“Atishi will be speaking at the house on issues being faced by Delhi and the way ahead. It is not yet clear whether the oath-taking ceremony would be complete by then, as it will depend on the dates provided by LG VK Saxena after concurrence from the President,”

Assembly Sessions

Throughout the course of a year, there are typically three significant assembly sessions conducted, namely the budget session, monsoon session, and winter session. However, there have been occasions where the legislative assembly has convened more than three sessions to address the urgent matters presented by the government. There must also not be a gap longer than six months between two sessions.

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