Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], November 25 (ANI): Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has said that incentive grants should be given to states with better financial management to motivate others to adopt financial discipline.

He made the above remark during the pre-budget meeting held at Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi on Friday. CM Baghel gave several proposals and suggestions regarding the General Budget 2023-24 in the meeting chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

He said, "Revenue deficit grants are being given by the central government to many such states, which have been running in huge revenue deficit continuously for the past several years. Chhattisgarh has been able to achieve better financial management and strict financial discipline since the inception of the state. The state has been mostly in a state of continuous revenue surplus."Even after experiencing a revenue deficit due to the non-receipt of expected financial assistance from the Central Government during the COVID-19 crisis in the financial years 2019-20 and 2020-21. Chhattisgarh registered a revenue surplus of Rs 4,642 in Chhattisgarh in the year 2021-22 as a result of better financial management and strict financial discipline, he added.

"The state had taken a net loan of only Rs 1,243 crore last year and this year also no loan has been taken by the state so far. We demand that incentive grants should be given to states with better financial management like Chhattisgarh so that other states can also be motivated for financial discipline," Baghel said. (ANI)