Rajasthan decides to go for Option-1 to meet GST implementation shortfall
Nov 05, 2020
New Delhi [India], November 5 : Rajasthan decides to go for Option-1 to meet the GST implementation shortfall, as per the Union government.
The State will get Rs 4,604 Crores through special borrowing window and also permission to raise additional Rs 5,462 Crores through borrowings, according to the Union government.
A statement from the Union Government read, "The Government of Rajasthan has communicated its acceptance for Option-1 out of the two options suggested by the Ministry of Finance to meet the shortfall in revenue arising out of GST implementation. The State has now joined 21 other States and 3 Union Territories (Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir and Puducherry) who have opted for Option-1."
The statement read, "The States who choose Option-1 are getting the amount of shortfall arising out of GST implementation through a special borrowing window put in place by the Government of India. The window has been operationalised now and the Government of India already borrowed an amount of Rs 12,000 crores on behalf of the States in two instalments and has passed it on to 21 States and 3 Union Territories on 23rd October, 2020 and 2nd November, 2020."
Now the Government of Rajasthan will receive funds raised through this window. The next instalment of borrowings is likely to be released on November 9, 2020, it said.
Under the terms of Option-1, besides getting the facility of a special window for borrowings to meet the shortfall arising out of GST implementation, States are also entitled to get unconditional permission to borrow the final instalment of 0.50% of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) out of the 2% additional borrowings permitted by the Government of India, under Atmnirbhar Abhiyaan on May 17, 2020.
This is over and above the Special Window of Rs.1.1 lakh crores. On receipt of the choice of Option-1 from the Government of Rajasthan, the Government of India has today granted the State Government of Rajasthan additional borrowing permission of Rs.5,462 crores (0.5% of Rajasthan's GSDP).
According to the statement, States who have opted for Option-1 are - Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, along with the three Union Territories of Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir and Puducherry.
