GOVT SETS 2011 BUDGET DEFICIT AT 1.7 PCT

Jakarta, Aug 16 (ANTARA) - The government has set the target of state budget deficit for 2011 at Rp115.7 trillion or 1.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

"The draft 2011 state budget will suffer a deficit of Rp115.7 trillion or 1.7 percent of GDP," President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said when presenting the draft 2011 state budget and its financial notes to a plenary session of the House of Representatives (DPR) here Monday.

The President said state revenues and grants in 2011 were projected to increase 9.5 percent to Rp1,086.4 trillion from the target of Rp992.4 trillion set in the revised 2010 state budget.

State spending was meanwhile estimated at Rp1,202 trillion, an increase of 6.7 percent compared to the target of Rp1,126.1 trillion in the revised 2010 state budget, he said.

Both the government and the House have agreed on the theme of development programs in the 2011 Government Work Plan, namely Accelerated Just Economic Growth, Helped by Good Governance and Synergy between the Central and Regional Governments.

Based on the priorities of the 2011 Government Work Plan, the central government's expenditure next year would be directed toward achieving seven main targets, the president said.

The main targets included supporting the attainment of quality economic growth, helped by the development of infrastructure facilities including those in the transportation and energy sectors, he said.

The others were providing social protection through school's operational assistance and public health guarantee, empowering the people through a self-reliant community empowerment program, and continuing bureaucratic reforms.

The next ones were improving state employees' and pensioners' welfare, and repaying maturing debts on time. ***2***