ON FEBRUARY 25, when state finance minister Vajubhai Vala rises to present his record 13th budget, there will be two words that can be read from between the lines of his elaborate speech. Thank You. Chief minister Narendra Modi, who has been elected for the second consecutive term (third in office in a row), has been burning midnight oil trying to figure out how best could the proposals be gift-wrapped to express his gratitude. Though top officials and ministers are busy behind their desks and are sworn to secrecy, government sources said that the budget will be people-centric with a thrust on sectors like agriculture, ports, infrastructure and certain important schemes. "The budget will definitely be pro-people as they have put so much of faith on the chief minister. Focus will certainly be on increasing the growth of agriculture sector, incentives to farmers like better power supply, urban development, port and port-led activities', said the source. "Gujarat is aiming to achieve a growth rate of 12% as compared to the nation which has a target of 10%. The state's agriculture growth was 15% in 2007-8 as compared to 2% of the nation. The government will try to raise its bar again,' a senior government official said. An official of the agriculture department said that a pre-budget survey of all the farm land of Gujarat indicates that there was widespread satisfaction among farmers as bumper crop of kharif, cotton and castor is expected this financial year. Modi silenced his detractors, mainly disgruntled MLAs from the farm rich Saurashtra, south and central Gujarat regions, and the upcoming budget is expected to contain sops for the farming and agri sector as well as overall development of these areas. "Agri production has also gone up from Rs 9,000 crore to Rs 34,000 crore in 2007-08 thanks to new irrigation techniques and agrifairs. This figure will go up in the current financial year,' said the source. The budget may also witness a reduction in the cess slapped on products required for agriculture production by farmers which is 12.5% at present,' the source added. Another key area that the government will focus in the much-awaited budget is the growth of the booming port sector. "The focus will be on ports, improving infrastructure to reach ports and development of various ports,' said an official. "Gujarat commands a strong position in the port sector and also has the longest 16,000 km coastline. The government recognises it and has plenty of plans to take this sector ahead,' said an official connected with this promising sector. The government is keen to set up a maritime university an also a shipbuilding yard at Alang, which is presently Asia's biggest ship scrapping yard. Also, the government has plans to boost activity in several smaller ports that it operates among the 10 run by Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB). "The budget will also have something for certain important government schemes like the Sagar Khedu Yojana that is expected to boost the economy of people working and living in coastal areas, Shehri Garib Yojna that will look towards raising the living standard of the urban poor', a government official said.