Budget: Finance Minister consults with others

BHUBANESWAR: Finance Minister Prafulla Chandra Ghadei on Tuesday held consultations with the ministers for the 2011-12 budget, likely to be presented in the third week of February.Ghadei said that more funds for rural development and other core sectors were sought by the ministers.Ghadei also reviewed the collection of value added tax (VAT) till December last. The collection, so far, has been Rs 6,167 crore against Rs 5,067 crore in the corresponding period last year, an increase of Rs 1,100 crore. The State Government has fixed a target of Rs 10,000 crore for VAT in 2011-12. Collection of VAT in 2010-11 was Rs 8,200 crore.