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Finance minister Harish Rao seeks hike in borrowing limit

Harish Rao urged the Centre to supply Covid-19 vaccine as soon as possible

HYDERABAD: State finance minister T. Harish Rao appealed to Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to increase the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) limit from four per cent to five per cent to help the state survive the Covid lockdown effect.

Harish Rao attended the 44th GST council meeting online on Saturday, where he informed the Centre that the lockdown was continuing in Telangana and the state was in deep financial trouble. He was not sure how many days the lockdown would continue.

The minister said Telangana had lost Rs 4,100 crore revenues in May alone. In this context, the state wanted the Centre to increase the FRBM limit, he said. Increasing the FRBM limit would boost national and state economic programmes and job creation.

Harish Rao urged the Centre to supply Covid-19 vaccine as soon as possible. He stated that measures should be taken to import the vaccine from abroad as per the requirement.

Responding to the tax recommendations made by the GST group of ministers on therapeutic drugs and other equipment, he pointed out that the Covid vaccine was not being produced in sufficient quantities domestically and should be delivered to the people in a planned and expeditious manner even if it was not imported.

It was revealed in the meeting that the Centre wanted the vaccination programme to be carried out soon in the wake of scientists warning of a third wave of Covid.

( Source : Deccan Chronicle. )
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