Jaipur: Ahead of state assembly elections in November, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, who also holds the finance portfolio, on Monday, presented a surplus budget for fiscal 2008-09.

"The next year's revenue surplus would be 3.59 percent of total revenue receipts and revenue deficit would be at 3 percent of the gross state domestic product," Raje said.

Announcing Rs.1.8-billion surplus budget in the state assembly, Raje spoke for over two hours about various development initiatives.

While presenting her fifth and last budget before the assembly elections, she said that due to prudent taxation and pragmatic fiscal policies, the state was now in better financial health.

To provide a thrust to education in the state, the chief minister proposed to launch a "Veenapani Yojna" from fiscal 2008-09, which will provide free textbooks and a school bag to students from the first to the eighth standards.

Raje also announced a "Gyanodya Yojna" through which charitable organisations and private parties would be encouraged to set up senior secondary and secondary schools in collaboration with the state government.

Raje said that to generate more employment opportunities, the government proposed to expand the animation academy presently operational in Jaipur to Jodhpur, Kota, Ajmer and Udaipur.

"Besides this, we plan to open academies in automotive design, draughtsmanship and graphic design in the state on the lines of the animation academy."

The chief minister also offered a number of schemes including scholarships for Scheduled Tribes and below poverty line (BPL) students. IANS

For more information on Education in Rajasthan, click here