State Budgets

Delhi CM Rekha Gupta said the FY27 Budget allocates 21 per cent of the outlay for environmental measures as the city continues to battle severe air pollution

Delhi Chief Minister and Finance Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday presented the Budget for the 2026-27 financial year with a total outlay of about Rs 1,03,700 crore and said the national capital is progressing rapidly with "triple engine" government. Describing it as a "green budget", the chief minister said the city is passing through a phase of transition and flagged that a "culture of freebies" had affected the growth rate, adding that the period between 2018 and 2020 saw a fall in revenue. The budget estimates tax revenue of Rs 74,000 crore, while an allocation of Rs 11,666 crore has been made for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). The chief minister also highlighted that Delhi's per capita income is the third highest in the country. In the infrastructure sector, Rs 5,921 crore has been earmarked for public works department (PWD), while urban development and shelter projects have been allocated Rs 7,887 crore. "Our aim is safe roads, climate corridors and flawless ...

Reeling under an acute financial crunch, the Himachal Pradesh government raised its highest-ever loans amounting to Rs 41,173 crore and also repaid loans worth Rs 32,004 crore in the financial year 2025-26, as per the revised budget estimates. A provision for raising loans amounting Rs 11,965 has been made in the budget for the financial year 2026-27. The rising debt and interest burden of the Himachal government and discontinuation of Revenue Deficit Grants (RDG) has become a challenge for the economy alongside the narrow tax base. As per the figures provided in the "Budget in Brief", the loan liability of the government stood at Rs 1,03,994 crore in 2025-26 which is estimated to touch Rs 1,12,319 crore in 2026-27. The total debt burden of the government was Rs 76,681 crore in 2022-23, Rs 85,295 crore in 2023-24 and Rs 93,625 crore in 2024-25, showing a rising trend. Interest payment was Rs 6,260.93 crore in 2024-25 and Rs 6,693 crore in 2025-26, and has been pegged at Rs 7,271

Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the fuel cess will provide a dedicated revenue stream to strengthen and effectively implement welfare measures for orphans and widows across the state

The Telangana government on Friday presented a budget of Rs 3.24 lakh crore for the year 2026-27, up by nearly Rs 20,000 crore over the previous year, prioritising its flagship programmes such as Musi Riverfront beautification and Hyderabad Metrorail Phase 2 and 3, besides fulfilment of poll promises. Presenting the budget in the assembly, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said the revenue expenditure was pegged at Rs 2,34,406 crore, and capital expenditure at Rs 47,267 crore. The government granted Rs 23,179 crore to the agriculture sector, followed by Energy at Rs 21,285 crore. The minister proposed an allocation of Rs 17,907 crore for the Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department and set aside Rs 13,679 crore for the Medical and Health Department. "This Budget is a charter of resolve to fulfil the hopes and aspirations of the people of Telangana. We have designed it to reflect the comprehensive development of the State. We are governing in adherence

Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal on Friday presented the budget for the financial year 2026-27, announcing allocation of Rs 14,500 crore for social security pensions and hiking honorariums for ASHA and Anganwadi workers. Presenting the second Pinarayi Vijayan-led government's sixth budget in the Legislative Assembly, Balagopal announced that the honorarium of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) and Anganwadi workers has been hiked by Rs 1,000 per month and that of Anganwadi helpers by Rs 500. The pay of pre-primary teachers and literacy mission motivators has been increased by Rs 1,000 per month and the daily wages of school cooking staff have been raised by Rs 25 per day, he said. The budget also announced Rs 3,700 crore for the Chief Minister's Stree Suraksha Scheme.

The budget session of the Kerala assembly commenced on Tuesday with Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar reading out the Left government's policy which claimed that the state was under financial "pressures" due to the economic "curtailments" placed on it by the state. In his policy address marking the commencement of the 16th session of the 15th Kerala Legislative Assembly, Arlekar said due to the restrictions on the state's borrowing limits and adjustments to the Integrated Goods and Services Tax, led to it being denied Rs 17,000 crore in the 2025-26 financial year. Besides that, it suffered a further "loss" of Rs 4,250 crore due to the "Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) methodology "which deviates from the accepted recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission", he said. Arlekar said that it has raised these concerns before the central government. The concerns raised by Kerala also include the "excessive centralisation of powers" and the union government's "interventions" in t

Far from empowering the poor, the proliferation of freebies could have the opposite effect, harming social and economic outcomes

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday asserted that he would continue in office and also present state budgets in the future. His statement comes amidst an intense power struggle in the ruling Congress, with the D K Shivakumar camp mounting pressure on the party high command for a leadership change. At least 15 MLAs and about a dozen MLCs have camped in New Delhi to push the party leadership to make Shivakumar the next Chief Minister, Congress sources said. According to reports, the demand is based on a power-sharing agreement reached in 2023, under which Siddaramaiah was to serve as the CM for two and a half years (till November 20) before making way for Shivakumar. Responding to a query on some MLAs and MLCs camping in Delhi, he said the Congress High Command has to decide on the leadership change, cabinet reshuffle or government restructuring. Has High Command spoken on it? We can't help it. Earlier also some people were discussing it, and now they might have gone (to

The NDA's big mandate and its 'Viksit Bihar' agenda face fiscal strain as the state struggles with low capital outlay and a heavy revenue burden

States spent 27% of FY26 budgeted capex in April-August, with Telangana leading and Tripura lagging, even as rising borrowings raise fiscal concerns

With delimitation tied to the 2026 Census, southern states risk losing seats despite leading in population control and contributing heavily to the economy

Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Wednesday presented in the assembly a budget of Rs 16,196 crore for the 2025-26 fiscal with a focus on empowering youth, uplifting farmers, investing in infrastructure and ensuring financial discipline. The budget comprises Rs 11,028 crore of revenue expenditure and Rs 5,168 crore of capital outlay. The devolution of taxes from the Centre was estimated at Rs 5,519 crore, a leading source of receipts, along with Rs 2,600 crore that the central government will provide to Sikkim as grants and aids in 2025-26, said Tamang, who also holds the finance portfolio. The state government will generate its own tax revenue worth Rs 2,076 crore and non-tax revenue to the tune of Rs 1,007 crore, he said, adding that Rs 2,651 crore will be raised through borrowing. The chief minister said that a provision of Rs 2,896 crore has been made in the next fiscal year's budget for the state government's contributions to the centrally sponsored schemes with a goal

Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Wednesday presented a Rs 2.36 lakh crore FY26 Budget for the state, focussing on tackling drug menace, and the health sector. During his budget speech, Cheema talked about AAP-led Punjab government's anti-drug campaign to check drug scourge. Cheema said the Punjab government is going to carry out the first-ever "drug census" in Punjab to understand the prevalence of drugs, usage of de-addiction centres etc. He said Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's visionary leadership has been the driving force behind Punjab's remarkable progress over the past three years. Cheema proposed total budget expenditure of Rs 2,36,080 crore for FY 2025-26. He said the state government will establish a second line of defence at border by deploying 5,000 home guards alongside BSF. Cheema said, for the first time in Punjab's history, the Bhagwant Mann government has decided to extend the state health insurance scheme in the coming fiscal year to make it universal

The Chhattisgarh assembly on Thursday passed the state's budget for the financial year 2025-26. The state government has presented a Rs 1,65,000 crore budget for the fiscal 2025-26, proposing substantial funding for welfare schemes related to women, food security, while allocating Rs 10,000 crore for boosting farm prosperity. The government has been working towards the development of the state, empowerment of women, welfare of farmers and increasing employment opportunities while maintaining financial discipline, finance minister OP Chaudhary said while answering to the discussions on Chhattisgarh Appropriation Bill, 2025. After the discussion, the appropriation bill was passed with a voice vote in the House. "Chhattisgarh is among the top three states in the country in terms of GST growth. There has been a 20 per cent increase in registration fee and a historic increase has also been reported in transport and excise revenue. The Mukhyamantri Mobile Tower Yojana is being introduced

Increasing debt burdens are forcing states to reassess poll-time welfare promises, as fiscal constraints make it harder to sustain freebie-driven policies amid growing financial pressures

Telangana's economy witnessed a robust expansion in fiscal 2024-25 with its Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) at current prices valued at Rs 16.12 lakh crore, reflecting a growth rate of 10 per cent, said Socio Economic Outlook for 2025. Its per capita income for 2024-25 at current prices is estimated at Rs 3.79 lakh, growing at 9.6 per cent and indicating an overall improvement in living standards, employment opportunities and economic development, said the Economic Outlook on Wednesday. "The state's economy has witnessed robust expansion, particularly in the IT sector, driven by strategic budgetary allocations for industry and technology," said the Economic Outlook. According to the Economic Outlook, the primary sector continues to be the largest employer, accounting for 42.7 per cent employment, followed by secondary sector (22.5 per cent) and tertiary sector (34.8 per cent). Further, it noted that the southern state recorded the highest share of its own tax revenue (SOTR), ..

Finance minister Thangam Thennarasu said that the state's revenue for the financial year 2025-26 is estimated at Rs 3,31,569 crore, while expenditure is estimated at Rs 3,73,204 crore

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin-led DMK regime on Friday presented its Budget 2025-26 in the Assembly, a full-fledged exercise ahead of the state election next year, and made big allocations for its flagship welfare schemes which include the fare-free bus travel scheme for women. Noisy scenes were witnessed in the Assembly as the main opposition AIADMK walked out after attempting to raise alleged graft in state-run liquor corporation TASMAC as the Enforcement Directorate has held searches related to the state-owned company. Presenting the Budget, Finance Minister Thangam Thenarasu said women using fare-free bus services has risen to 65 per cent from 40 per cent. "On an average, 50 lakh women travel daily in the buses run by State Transport Undertakings, leading to a total of 642 crore trips so far. Notably, a study by the State Planning Commission revealed that women save an average of Rs 888 per month due to this initiative. For the year 2025-26, the government has allocated a

Ajit Pawar presented his 11th Maharashtra budget, making him the second-most frequent budget presenter in the state's history