Odisha no longer a 'Bimaru' state: Naveen

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday said the state has made a significant stride in several sectors ever since the presentation of the first state budget 80 years back and is no longer a 'Bimaru' (badly-performing) state.

Odisha's annual budget was only Rs 1.77 crore for the year 1936-37 and has increased to Rs 1,20,028 crore in 2018-19, he said as he released a book titled "80 years of Odisha Budget - A Commemorative Volume' at a special programme here.

"This compilation is an effort to present the journey of Odisha in these 80 years through facts, figures and pictorial representation. Odisha is the first state in the country to bring out such a compilation," he said, noting that the book will be useful for scholars, researchers and policymakers.

Terming the budget a "mirror of the policies of the government", he said that the 80 budgets presented since 1936 portray the commitment of the government to take the state on the path of development.

He said over the years, the Odisha budget has shown innovation to achieve the broader objective of development and welfare for the people of the state.

"Total expenditure summing up to Rs 1.77 crore, the budget of 1936-37 was a baby step towards transforming the socio-economic condition of the new province. Over the 80 years, this has risen at a compound annual growth rate of 15 per cent to a six-digit budget of Rs 1,06,910 crore for the year 2017-18. In 2018-19, it has reached a level of Rs 1,20,028 crore," he said.

Patnaik said the state government has come up with a separate agricultural budget in 2016 with focused attention on the agricultural sector.

--IANS

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