The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)-Rajasthan Council has welcomed the emphasis laid by the 2008-09 State Budget, presented on Monday, on development of infrastructure, saying it would ensure delivery of goods and services of a high standard and meet public aspirations. CII Rajasthan chairman R.K. Poddar said here on Tuesday that the State Government had agreed to some of the recommendations made by CII in its pre-Budget memorandum and taken steps to reduce the time involved in the value added tax (VAT) refunds and provided for annual self-assessment and exemption to employers using e-filing from submitting audit reports. Mr. Poddar said the Budget had taken care of social sectors such as health, nutrition, drinking water and education and would speed up economic growth of the State. Other important announcements included those on skill development projects, electrification of all villages by the year 2009 and reduction of VAT on marble and finished Kota stone from 12.5 per cent to four per cent. CII Panel on Economic Affairs convenor Kishore Khaitan pointed out that the reduction in tax on aviation spirit from 28 per cent to 4 per cent and entertainment tax from 35 per cent to 30 per cent would lead to high revenue earnings for the State Exchequer.