Notwithstanding a grim financial picture in the face of a troubled political situation, Andhra Pradesh chief minister K Rosaiah today presented a tax-free budget for 2010-11 with an outlay of Rs 1,13,675 crore and a projected expenditure of Rs 1,13,660 crore.

The budget estimates, presented to the state Assembly, show a fiscal deficit of Rs 12,983 crore, which will be about Rs 1,300 crore less than the revised estimates for the 2009-10 fiscal, and a revenue surplus of Rs 3,548 crore, up from Rs 2,942 crore.

The grim picture that the government, including the chief minister himself, has been projecting for the past few months did not reflect in the budget as revenue receipts showed no significant fall except for a meagre Rs 558 crore and not Rs 8,000 crore as feared. As per the revised estimates for 2009-10 fiscal, revenue receipts stood at Rs 78,406 crore while the projected revenues for 2010-11 are Rs 90,648 crore.

"The global economic slowdown has impacted the economies of all states in the country much more than what we initially anticipated. Of late, the GDP growth rate has been showing signs of recovery which would surely be reflected in the growth rates of revenues in near future," Rosaiah, who presented a record 16th budget and the first as chief minister, observed.