State has earned 114% more revenue: Fin min

Ranchi: Jharkhand earned a revenue of about Rs 21,000 crore against the target of Rs 18,500 crore as the 2022-23 fiscal year ended on Friday.
State finance minister Rameshwar Oraon, talking to reporters at his residence on Friday night, said the hike in earnings is nearly 114%.
He said, “The state government has managed to generate record revenue collection ever. Against the target, we have managed to amass Rs 2,500 crore more. The final figures may slightly increase as financial transaction from the state treasury is under way till midnight tonight.”
Of the total earnings, SGST contributed to 18%, VAT 22%, electricity cess/charges 43% and professional tax 4%. During the last fiscal, the state’s revenues stood at Rs 19,750 crore against the target of Rs 16,500 crore. He, however, said this year’s collection is significant due to lack of GST component in it.
“After GST was launched in 2017, the Centre used to give compensation to all states till last year as per its promise for the initial five years. So last year’s revenues were inclusive of GST compensation. This time, with no GST compensation, the earnings were solely of the state,” he said, adding that fiscal disciplines and innovative methods to generate funds helped them in their endeavour.
In terms of expenditure, Oraon said of the Rs 1 lakh crore budget, the state government has so far managed to utilise 86% . “A total of Rs 64,650 crore has been utilised so far this fiscal,” he said.
Explaining the methods used to increase revenue, he said, “The state’s revenue had taken a beating during Covid-19 pandemic coupled with delayed GST compensation from the Centre. However, we then brainstormed. For example, we started Intelligence and Revenue Analysis Unit (IRAU), which worked effectively. This apart, we formed a Special Task Unit (STU) to recover taxes from big defaulters. Recently, we came up with a one-time settlement scheme titled ‘Samadhan, which helped us earn Rs 4 crore this year. Our target is Rs 500 crore for the next fiscal.”
He stressed that during the next fiscal too, they will focus on revenue generation through various methods and cut down on unwanted and establishment expenses.
“More revenue will help the government pump in money for welfare and development works which in turn will lead to creation of jobs,” he added.