Govt open to increase spending for social causes

BEHRAMPORE(WEST BENGAL): The Centre is planning to increase the spending on social activities with a rise in government revenue, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said here today.

"With rise in government revenues we will increase it further," he said at the inauguration of a Union Bank branch in the Murshidabad district.

The government is keeping aside a major portion of the budget for social activities and this share is going up from Rs 2.43 lakh crore last year to Rs 3.25 lakh crore during current fiscal, he said.

The government's spending has increased in its major initiatives like the NREGA, Right to Education, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, etc.

Mukherjee said the government's income will increase once business and industry flourish and more employment is generated through such schemes.

The govt has targeted to include unbanked 73,000 villages into banking services by 2012, he said.