Raman Singh thanks centre for 'IIT gift'

Raipur, July 10 (IANS) Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh Thursday thanked both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for doling out the "much-needed" Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) to his state in the union budget for 2014-15.

Chhattisgarh already has a full-fledged operational Indian Institute of Management (IIM) and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Raipur.

In his reaction to the budget, Singh said that the central government's announcement to hike royalty on minerals and to increase investment in mining sector will hugely benefit the mineral-rich states like Chhattisgarh which has roughly 20 percent of country's coal and iron ore reserves.

He said that several public welfare provisions' announcement made in the first budget of the Modi government are expected to have major significance and positive impact on Chhattisgarh.