Pan:

Three women were booked by the Goa Police on Monday for allegedly offering massage services at Candolim Beach, without obtaining permission from the competent authority, an official said.

Police said that as per the formalities all three accused persons were produced before the Deputy Director of Tourism at Panaji, Goa, along with the report for committing offence under Section 3 of the Goa Tourist Places Protection and Maintenance Act 2001, who failed to pay the penalty of Rs 25,000 (to be paid by each accused persons) and hence the offence was registered against them.

“The order was passed by the Deputy Director of Tourism imposing a penalty of Rs 25,000 to be paid by each accused person, but the same was not paid by them,” police added.

Later, Kuldeep Arolkar, Deputy Director of Tourism, complained about the incident and the action was taken by Calangute police.

“These accused persons were found moving at Candolim Beach and approaching tourists on the beach and offering massage services without any permission from the competent authority, thereby, contravening several sections,” police said.

Sources informed that a video of the massage taking place on the Candolim beach had gone viral, which forced police to take action.

After receiving complaints from locals, the Goa government had earlier warned touts and those involved in illegal massage activities on beaches.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

The Goa government has announced a hike in Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel with effect from Saturday, which will raise the price of petrol by Re 1 and diesel by 36 paise, an official said.

The notification on this hike was issued on Friday by under secretary (finance) of the state government Pranab G Bhat.

“The rise in VAT means petrol and diesel prices will go up by Re 1 and 36 paise, respectively. The current price of petrol in Goa is Rs 95.40 per litre, while it is Rs 87.90 per litre for diesel,” the official said.

Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader Yuri Alemao called it the act of an “insensitive government” and said the hike must be withdrawn immediately.

The Pramod Sawant government must curb wasteful expenditure instead of carrying out such hikes, he said.

“The state government wants to break the backbone of the common people. Just recently, they hiked the power tariff and today we have rise in petrol and diesel prices,” Mr Alemao said.

In a post on X, Goa Aam Aadmi Pary chief Amit Palekar said, “To fuel the ever-rising need of corruption of @BJP4Goa led by CM @DrPramodPSawant after electricity price hike now BJP puts hands in the pockets of common again by raising fuel prices. How much more you will make a common man suffer?”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Panaji:

BJP MLA Sankalp Amonkar filed a police complaint on Wednesday against Congress’ South Goa candidate Viriato Fernandes under the Prevention of Insults to the National Honour Act, 1971, over his controversial statements about the Constitution.

Mr Amonkar filed the complaint at Colva police station in South Goa.

Mr Fernandes had waded into a controversy when he said the Indian Constitution was “forced upon” Goa after its liberation from Portuguese rule in 1961.

The BJP MLA alleged that Mr Fernandes disrespected the Constitution and thus committed a crime under Section 2 of the Prevention of Insults to the National Honour Act.

No First Information Report has been registered in the case yet, police sources said.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Aarti Hamal. File photo: facebook.com/MGopalHamal

Two days after the 36-year-old daughter of a Mayor in Nepal was reported missing from Goa, she was traced to a hotel in the coastal State on March 26, police said.

The woman, Aarti Hamal, was found at the hotel located at Chopdem village in North Goa, around 20 km away from where she went missing on March 25, they said.

“Hamal was reported missing from the Osho meditation centre near Mandrem in North Goa, where she arrived from Nepal a month back. The management of the centre had lodged a missing person’s complaint at Mandrem police station,” a senior police official said.

Before going missing, the woman was last seen at Siolim (North Goa) on March 25, he said.

“A massive search operation was launched across the State to trace her,” the official said, adding that the eyewitnesses claimed that she was very much in her senses when they last saw her.

Police had also started looking for her at another Osho centre in the State located at Canacona, he added.

“She has been frequently visiting Goa. She had left her phone back at the Osho centre, due to which she could not be traced with the help of technical surveillance,” he said.

The State police had started searching all the hotels in and around Pernem and Mandrem areas of North Goa, the official said.

“On Wednesday, Hamal was found in a hotel at Chopdem village along with two other women, who are her friends,” he said.

The police are in the process of recording her statement, the official said, adding that her family members have arrived in the State.

Her father had earlier released a post on social media seeking help from the people to trace her.

Small States must prioritise raising their own revenue to reduce their dependency on the Union government

The fiscal situation of India’s States has garnered significant attention in recent times. Despite ample data on State finances, most of the analysis is centred around larger States. There needs to be more discussion on the fiscal position of small States (i.e. States with a population of less than 1 crore). Most of these small States have distinctive characteristics that limit revenue mobilisation. Recognising these disabilities, the Constitution has provided mechanisms to address them. But these States continue to rely heavily on the Union government for revenue. This dependence creates vulnerabilities for the States as well as the Union.

The total revenue receipts for a State constitute transfers from the Union government such as the State’s share in Union taxes including income tax, corporation tax, and grants, and the State’s own revenues from tax and non-tax sources. The State can raise its own taxes (own tax revenue or OTR) from professions, property, commodities, etc. It can mobilise non-tax revenue (own non-tax revenue or ONTR) from social and economic services, profits, dividends, etc.

The revenue receipts of each of the small States have increased. For six of the nine States, they have grown faster than the gross state domestic product (GSDP). But these increases are primarily due to Union transfers rather than States’ own revenues. In other words, dependence on the Union has not decreased. For three States — Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura — the revenue receipts have grown slower than the State GSDP implying limited fiscal space to operate.

While the share of Union transfers in the revenue receipts of all States combined hovers between 40% and 50%, the ratio is quite large for the small States. Except for Goa, the Union’s share in all the other small States’ revenue receipts is more than 60% (2022-23 Budget Estimates). For five States, the share is around 90% (Chart 1).

Chart 1 | The chart shows the current transfers to the revenue receipts ratio. The figures are in %.

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The States’ economies have grown over time, but this has not necessarily translated into higher revenue mobilisation capacities. It is best reflected in the continued dominance (2014-2023) of current transfers in the revenue receipts.

The capacity of small States to raise their own taxes continues to be limited. Eight out of nine States fare worse than the all-State average OTR-GSDP ratio (Chart 2).

Chart 2 | The chart shows the own tax revenue (OTR) to gross state domestic product (GSDP). The figures are in %.

The distinctive characteristics of these States restrict economic activity and consequently make it challenging to generate tax revenue. However, what is particularly concerning is that the States’ ability to mobilise taxes has yet to show significant improvement over time. At best, it has fluctuated, with several States experiencing a peak in their OTR-GSDP ratio around 2017-18. The small States do relatively better in mobilising their ONTR, with six States performing better than the all-State average. However, States such as Manipur, Tripura, and Nagaland have consistently struggled in terms of their ONTR-GSDP ratio, performing poorly in comparison.

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The limited capacity of small States to generate their own revenues results in a heavy dependence on the Union government, exposing the States to various vulnerabilities. First, the States rely on the Union governments’ political goodwill. A sudden decline in Union transfers can adversely affect the States’ expenditures. In the last few years, there have been increasing disagreements concerning resource sharing (for example, GST compensation) between the Union and the States. Second, high dependence on the Union might imply less fiscal freedom for the States. A significant portion of the funds transferred by the Union is tied to specific purposes, limiting the States’ flexibility. In some instances, given their existing revenue situation, the States might be unable to match the transfers. Third, the lack of their own revenues can lead to weakened State capacity, affecting the delivery of social, economic, and general services. This situation becomes even more critical as many small States share international borders. The developmental concerns in these States can have implications for national security.

To mitigate these vulnerabilities, the States must prioritise identifying new sources of tax revenue or explore ways to leverage existing ones more effectively. A study by Manipur University evaluating the State finances of Manipur identified how its liquor prohibition policies have led to substantial revenue losses without significantly reducing the negative consequences of drinking. Another study of Arunachal Pradesh’s finances identified the potential to generate more revenue from transactions on land and sales tax.

Additionally, there is a need to improve the tax administration in the States. Not only will this lead to higher resource mobilisation, but it will also reduce the deviation of actual from budgeted tax revenues. The States can boost their collection of non-tax revenues by revising the existing charges and rates for various services and enhancing administrative revenue collection efficiency. Many state public sector enterprises in these States are not in good shape and do not contribute enough revenue. The States must consider revitalising and corporatising these enterprises to improve their revenue performance. Some States such as Mizoram have closed down loss-making public sector enterprises, recognising that these entities are a liability.

Sarthak Pradhan is an Assistant Professor at the Takshashila Institution. The research for this article was made possible by The International Centre Goa Research Grants. Email ID: sarthak@takshashila.org.in

Source: “State Finances: A Study of Budgets”, Reserve Bank of India

Also read: Data | Friction over revenue sharing formula: Why some States get more money from Centre

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