States Budget

Economist Montek Singh Ahluwalia has opined that state governments can tax large agriculture farms that are diversifying and getting high income levels, to strengthen finances. Speaking at a conference on the 16th Finance Commission report on Wednesday, the former Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission said the revenue generated from taxing diversified agriculture can be retained entirely by the states and need not be shared with the Centre. "Now, the fact of the matter is that all of agriculture cannot be taxed by the Centre and can only be taxed by the states. Is it the assumption that agriculture must forever remain exempt from income tax, irrespective of the size of the holding? It's very difficult to defend that," he said. He added, "If you have holdings of modest size that are diversifying, they can certainly be generating reasonably high income levels and come under the income tax category. That tax would go 100 per cent to the states. It wouldn't be taken away by the ...

Assam Finance Minister Ajanta Neog on Tuesday presented a Rs 62,294.78 crore interim budget for the financial year 2026-27, ahead of the assembly elections due in a couple of months. Tabling her last budget before the state goes into polls, Neog said Assam is, at present, the fastest-growing state in India as per the RBI data. "I seek a vote on account on the demands for grants for the initial months of the financial year 2026-27, amounting to Rs 62,29,478.30 lakh to enable the government to carry on with its normal services pending full budget," she said. In her 33-page budget speech, Neog said Assam is poised to become a Rs 10 lakh crore economy by 2028, ahead of the state's own 2030 target for the same. "At constant prices, the state's Gross State Domestic Product expanded by 45 per cent between FY 2019-20 and FY 2024-25, significantly outperforming the national growth average of 29 per cent," she added. The finance minister said Assam's per capita income has more than doubled

Balancing welfare and development, Andhra Pradesh on Saturday presented a Budget of over Rs 3.32 lakh crore for 202627, with an estimated revenue expenditure of Rs 2.56 lakh crore and capital expenditure of nearly Rs 54,000 crore. While presenting the Budget in the state assembly, Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav said the estimated revenue deficit would be around Rs 22,000 crore (1.11 per cent of the GSDP) and the fiscal deficit is pegged at nearly 76,000 crore (3.84 per cent of the GSDP). The budget proposed Rs 51,021 crore for the BC component, while School Education gets Rs 32,308 crore. The Budget allocated Rs 19,306 crore for Health, Medical & Family Welfare Department. The Panchayati Raj & Rural Development Department, held by Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan gets nearly Rs 23,000 crore. In his speech, Keshav said a short span of two years is certainly not enough to rebuild a state which has faced catastrophic events since its inception. First, the irrational ...

The 16th Finance Commission has retained states' 41 per cent share in central taxes, but changes in the devolution formula mean gains for southern and western states and relative losses for several no

RBI flags widening fiscal divergence as youthful states like Bihar and UP gain from workforce growth, while ageing Kerala and Tamil Nadu face rising pension and debt pressures

CAG data shows Haryana, Telangana utilised the highest proportion of BE among 19 states

States and Union Territories will borrow Rs 2.81 trillion in Q3 FY26 through securities, with borrowing patterns shaped by GST changes, redemptions and tax devolution

CAG warns most Indian states of fiscal imprudence as March spending overshoots limits, with key departments exhausting large portions of budgets in the last month of FY24

Hnahthial in Mizoram topped the region, followed by Champhal in the same state

Since Sikkim merged into India in 1975, it has made rapid strides in indicators of economic and social wellbeing, writes Indivjal Dhasmana

Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Diya Kumari on Wednesday presented the Budget for the financial year 2025-26 and announced that the government is committed to make the state a USD 350 billion economy. Kumari, who also holds the finance portfolio, said the state government has delivered 58 per cent of its promises made in the election manifesto and has fulfilled 73 per cent of the previous Budget announcements. She announced that as many as 2 lakh new houses will be provided with drinking water connections and on this initiative Rs 400 crore will be spent. She said that nine greenfield expressways will be constructed. Diya Kumari started her Budget speech by presenting the state's income expenditure estimates for the year 2025-26. Starting the Budget session, Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani said the government will respond to issues raised by the Opposition after the Zero Hour on February 20. It is pertinent to note that the Opposition Congress is demanding the government's respo

Finance ministers of states demanded an increase in allocation of 50-year interest free loan, while fiscally stressed states like Punjab and Kerala pitched for a special package and borrowing flexibility, sources said. In a pre-budget meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, states have also urged for higher borrowing limits to support fiscal activities, besides additional funds for Jal Jeevan Mission to arrange for tanks and storage to enhance water supplies. Sources said in the meeting, Maharashtra wanted funds for Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana and demanded that a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) be launched with the Centre and state sharing 50 per cent of the cost each. The Budget for 2025-26 is slated to be presented in Parliament on February 1, 2025. Finance ministers of all states attended Friday's meeting with Sitharaman here. Several states demanded increase in allocations for the 50 years interest-free loan scheme, sources said, adding they also ...

Fiscal consolidation measures such as managing contingent liabilities, improving fiscal transparency, and enhancing the fiscal credibility of SDLs needed to address states' financial challenges

Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, L Murugan on Saturday said absence of a state's name in the Union Budget does not mean that funds were not allocated to them. He claimed that states are always getting sufficient funds from the Centre. Absence of the name of a state in the Union Budget does not mean no funds were allocated to it. Uttar Pradesh was not mentioned, Rajasthan was not mentioned. Even Madhya Pradesh was not mentioned. It does not mean that sufficient funds were not allocated, he told reporters. Further, he said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave his commitment to the people of Andhra Pradesh during his visit to the state earlier that similar to Viksit Bharat (developed India) the government will also go ahead for Viksit Andhra Pradesh. Earlier, addressing a press conference, the Union Minister highlighted several allocations made to the southern state in the Union Budget 2024-25. Customs duty exemption on shrimp production, impetus to natural

MP deputy CM Jagdish Devda announced an allocation of Rs 26,560 crore for the Women and Child Development Department in the budget, which is a massive boost of 81 per cent compared to FY24

Being revenue surplus, which indicates that the state exceeds its current receipts for its current expenditure, Telangana has been generous with its social welfare schemes

The future of key economic reforms seems to depend more on the states

B V R Subrahmanyam underscored the fundamental role the organisation can play in guiding states towards fulfilling their developmental objectives in consonance with the central government's growth

'Apart from punitive and regulatory measures, we need to empower girl child to decide about when to marry,' the finance minister said

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will set a record by presenting the sixth Budget in a row -- 5 annual Budgets and one interim -- a feat achieved so far only by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai. With the presentation of interim Budget on February 1, Sitharaman will surpass the records of her predecessors like Manmohan Singh, Arun Jaitley, P Chidambaram, and Yashwant Sinha, who had presented five budgets in a row. Desai, as Finance Minister, had presented five annual Budgets and one interim Budget between 1959-1964. The interim Budget 2024-25 to be presented by Sitharaman on February 1, will be a vote-on-account that will give the government authority to spend certain sums of money till a new government comes to office after the April-May general elections. As the Parliamentary elections are due, Sitharaman's interim Budget may not contain any major policy changes. Speaking at an industry event last month, Sitharaman had ruled out any "spectacular announcement" in the interi