Uttar Pradesh On Path Of Economic Recovery? State's December Revenue Collection Rises By Over Rs 2,500 Crore

Uttar Pradesh's total collection of tax and non-tax revenue have witnessed an increase of about Rs 2,522 crore in December 2020 compared to same month last year, reports Hindustan Times.

Further, the state’s total collections in the first three quarters of 2020-2021 has also improved considerably. However, it is still behind the overall target for the financial year and authorities are hoping for a turnaround in the last quarter.

In December 2020, overall collections by the transport and excise departments have exceeded the targets. While the transport department collected Rs 734.44 crore against the target of Rs 648.75 crore, the excise duty collections are at Rs 3,149.04 crore against a target of Rs 3,090 crore.

“Yes, our revenue collection is witnessing an upward trend since July 2020 despite the adverse impact that Covid-19 had on the state’s economy. We are recovering from the economic slowdown under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and directions of chief minister Yogi Adityanath," state Finance Minister Suresh Khanna was quoted as saying.

“This clearly shows that the state’s economy is bouncing back. We hope the revenue collection will improve further in the last quarter of 2021-22. The state government should also review its expenditure and stick to meeting the targets as the government spending acts like a stimulus to the economy,” Yashvir Tyagi, former professor of the department of economics, Lucknow University was quoted as saying.

The Yogi government is likely to convene an assembly session soon to present the budget for 2021-22, which will be the last full-fledged budget before the state goes to polls in 2022.

Thus the state government’s overall shortfall in the revenue collections vis-à-vis the targets, remains a major concern for the authorities.