A sum of Rs 140 crore was kept as the provision for meeting the salary expenditure of the migrant employees. I propose to increase it to Rs 189 crore in the current year to provide for the payment of one installment of the arrears of pay revision. For the BE (2012-13), the proposed figure is Rs 171 crore. Additionally, an expenditure of Rs 104 crore is proposed to meet the requirement on cash assistance for the Kashmiri migrant families. Further, Rs 76 crore are expected to be incurred on the scheme of the return and rehabilitation of the migrants in the current financial year. The next year’s provision has been kept at Rs 130 crore.

A medical insurance scheme for the Kashmiri migrants was announced by me earlier in this August House. Hoping that the scheme will finally take off after the prospective beneficiaries feel persuaded to take its benefits and come forward to join this scheme aimed at mitigating their sufferings due to ailments, I propose to repeat a provision of Rs 8 crore in the next year’s budget for this purpose.

Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd.

Last year, I had apprised this August House about the details of the government’s decision to switch-over to the ‘ways and means’ system of the Reserve Bank of India in place of the traditional ‘memorandum of understanding’ which had been operational for many years between the government and the Jammu and Kashmir Bank. As anticipated by me, and elaborated before this August House last year, the new system has been working very satisfactorily to the mutual advantage of the State Government and the Jammu and Kashmir Bank.

We have saved interest expenditure of around Rs 200 crore so far in the current financial year through the new arrangement.

On the other hand, the J&K Bank made record profits and declared an all time high dividend of 260% to its shareholders. The amount of dividend disbursed, included a sum of Rs 67 crore paid to the State Government as its majority share-holder. The Bank continues to move towards still higher business and profit targets in the current financial year. I am very sure that the fears expressed last year by my friends, sitting on the other side of this August House, have been adequately allayed by this time. I assure the Hon’ble Members of this August House that other reforms, initiated by me, and those which may be initiated in future, shall always be guided by the principles of public benefit and shall continue to be advantageous to the financial management of the State.

J&K State Financial Corporation
Continuing my efforts to revive the glorious past of this institution and resurrect its role in the rapid industrialization and promotion of economic activities in the State, the government has sanctioned a sum of Rs 22 crore as additional share capital in favour of the J&K State Financial Corporation in the current financial year.

Additionally, a sum of Rs 14 crore, reflected as the unpaid dividend amount to the State government, accrued under the statute, has also been converted into paid up share capital of the Corporation. We hope to contribute an additional capital of Rs 25 crore towards the authorized share capital of the Corporation in order to clear all its past liabilities towards SIDBI. These measures will strengthen the Corporation’s claims on funds to the extent of Rs 150 crore for the revival of its activities, as recommended by the Prime Minister’s Task Force on MSME, and, subsequently, also supported by the Prime Minister’s Expert Group on the generation of employment for the youth in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Corporation has already cleared the backlog of its audited balance sheets upto the year 2008-09. I am very hopeful of its audited accounts becoming upto date in the next few months’ time.

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