Page 3 - State Budgets

Budget focused on economic resilience, creates opportunities for all

It carefully allocates public resources and commits to reduce the country's fiscal debt

Budget to boost healthcare sector, bolster bulk drug manufacturing: Expert

India's interim Budget would help in addressing some of the major challenges being faced by the country in the health and pharma sector and reinforce India's standing as the Pharmacy of the World, a well-known pharma industry association head has said. The Union Health Ministry has been allocated Rs 90,658.63 crore in the interim Budget for 2024-2025, a hike of 12.59 per cent over 80,517.62 crore in the Budget (revised estimates) for 2023-2024. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government plans to set up more medical colleges by utilising existing hospital infrastructure and will form a committee to examine the issues and make relevant recommendations. India's commitment to promoting research and development in the life sciences sector will receive a boost with the government's plan to establish more medical colleges in the country, Karun Rishi, president of the USA India Chamber of Commerce said on Thursday. "This initiative will improve healthcare services and contribu

From Adityanath to M K Stalin, here are CMs' views on Interim Budget

It is a Budget that will help empower women, said UP CM

Gujarat Assembly session: Budget for FY25 to be presented on Feb 2

The budget session of the Gujarat assembly will begin on Thursday and the state budget for FY 2024-25 will be presented on Friday, a state minister said. The budget will reflect the vision of the state government for the next year and a road map for the next 25 years, he said. The opposition Congress has said it will corner the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government on a range of issues including inflation, unemployment, and the recent boat capsize tragedy in a lake in Vadodara, resulting in the death of 12 students and two teachers. The budget session will start with the customary address of Governor Acharya Devvrat. "On the first day, the governor will present the previous year's achievements of the state government in his address to the House," Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rushikesh Patel told reporters in Gandhinagar on Wednesday. Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai will present the budget on the next day (February 2). The budget will reflect the vision of the s

Interim Budget 2024: Some key imperatives that are need for the economy

Simplifying taxes would help businesses navigating turbulent times, writes Ketan Dalal

Centre holds all-party meet ahead of interim Budget session of Parliament

Floor leaders of various parties on Tuesday attended an all-party meeting convened by the government ahead of the Budget session of Parliament. Defence Minister and Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha, Rajnath Singh, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and his deputy Arjun Ram Meghwal represented the government at the meet. NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Congress' K Suresh, TMC's Sudip Bandopadhyay, DMK's T R Baalu, Shiv Sena's Rahul Shewale, Samajwadi Party's S T Hasan, JD(U)'s Ram Nath Thakur and TDP's Jayadev Galla were among the leaders present at the meeting at the Parliament House complex. It is a customary practice ahead of every session to convene a meeting as leaders of different parties highlight the issues they want to raise in Parliament, and the government offers them a glimpse into its agenda and seeks their cooperation. It will be a short session this time, between January 31 and February 9, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman set to table an interim budget ahead

Indian investors favour long-term bonds anticipating conservative budget

Recent bond auctions saw bids that surpassed expectations, said Alok Singh, group treasury head at CSB Bank

Kerala govt agrees to discuss financial problems of state in Assembly

The Kerala government on Tuesday agreed to discuss in the state assembly an issue raised by the Congress-led UDF opposition regarding the financial problems being faced by the southern state. The UDF, in an adjournment notice, alleged that the mismanagement and extravagance of the Left government was the cause for the financial problems in the state. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan welcomed the adjournment notice moved by the opposition to suspend the scheduled business of the House and discuss the issue. In view of the stand taken by the CM, Speaker A N Shamseer ruled that the scheduled business of the House would be suspended for two hours at 1 pm for discussion on the notice. Agreeing to discuss the issue, the chief minister said that the government was ready as the opposition in its adjournment notice agreed that the Centre's neglect towards Kerala was one of the reasons for the financial problems in the state. Vijayan also pointed out that despite this, the UDF MPs have never

State revenue grows 5% till Nov against 17.4 budgeted for FY24: Report

The growth rate of the combined revenue receipts of the 16 largest states has fallen by almost 80 per cent to 5 per cent during April-November from the budgeted 17.4 per cent for the current fiscal, according to a report. The states have so far borrowed over 37 per cent more than they did last fiscal and given these poor numbers, they will have to borrow heavily this fiscal to service their debt and pay salaries and pensions. The plunge is due to a contraction in sales tax and lower-than-budgeted growth of state goods and services tax collections (SGST), excise duty and stamps and registrations during the period, restricting the growth of states own tax revenue (SOTR) to 11 per cent. Another reason for the poor numbers is the steep decline in Central grants, Icra Ratings said in a report. The agency, though, expects an upside in tax devolution in the fourth quarter, its quantum may not be adequate to fully offset the shortfall in grants. Moreover, even if a sizeable portion of the

Delhi assembly Budget to be tabled on Feb 16; session starts from Feb 15

The Budget session of the Delhi Assembly will be held from February 15 to 20, an official said here on Friday. He said Delhi Finance Minister Atishi will table the 2024-25 budget of the city government on February 16. It will be the first budget presentation by Atishi, who was given the finance portfolio last year. A file of the budget session has been sent to Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena for his approval, the officer added.

Bengal CM Mamata calls on Guv Bose, discusses state budget, other issues

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met Governor CV Ananda Bose on Wednesday evening. The two leaders held discussions over several issues, including the budget session of the state assembly next month, Raj Bhavan officials said. "I am feeling pain, despite that I have come for the meeting. As per the verdict of the Supreme Court, we had a very good meeting. I will come again on January 26," Banerjee said, referring to the injury she received on her forehead after her car made a sudden halt to avoid a collision with another vehicle. She said the meeting was fruitful. Bose and the TMC government have been at loggerheads over various issues, including the appointment of vice-chancellors in state-run universities. The state government has been claiming that the governor's appointment of VCs was illegal as he did not consult the Education Department. The state government had moved the Supreme Court, which ordered the preparation of a final draft of the list of names proposed fo

Disinvestments slow, but govt keeps earning dividends from state-run firms

It has never happened that the budget estimate for dividends from such companies has failed

Focus on infra, agri, education, sports in budget for 2024-25: Soren

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday held a meeting with officials to review preparations for the state budget for the 2024-25 fiscal. He directed the officials to focus on infrastructure, education, sports, industry, health, agriculture, electricity, water supply, road, housing and social security in the upcoming state budget. Taking stock of the preparations for the budget for the next fiscal at the state secretariat, the CM said that special focus should be given to villages, agriculture, farmers and youths in the budget. Strengthening the rural economy is the priority of the state government, he said. he CM added that a better budget should be prepared keeping in mind the priorities and aspirations of all the people. Welfare of the poor is the aim of our government. The benefits of state government schemes should reach the last person, he said. State finance minister Rameshwar Oraon, chief secretary L Khiyangte and other senior officials were also present in the ..

Supplementary budget passed; Cong pushed Chhattisgarh into debt: CM Sai

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Thursday said the previous Congress government did not make concrete efforts for revenue generation and pushed the state under huge debt in the last five years. While answering the debate in the Assembly on the demand proposals for the second Supplementary Budget of the ongoing financial year 2023-24, Sai said his government is determined to fulfil each and every 'Modi guarantee'. After the discussion, the House passed the supplementary budget worth more than Rs 12,992 crore. "We are going to start fulfilling the promises made to the public in our manifesto through this supplementary budget. At the age of 10, I lost my father but I want to assure the youth of the state I will always work for their betterment as a father and a guardian. I will be committed like a brother for the safety and prosperity of sisters of the state. I will be dedicated for the betterment of every citizen of the state," he said. The previous government had presen

States on course to spend 29% more in capex this fiscal: ICRA report

States are on course to spend 29 per cent more on capital expenditure in the ongoing fiscal, aided by additional central grants and market borrowings, a report said on Tuesday. The increased capex spending will see their debt-level in relation to their gross domestic product rising to 30 per cent from 28.9 per cent in FY23, a report by Icra Ratings said. The combined capital spending of 13 major states will rise 29 per cent this fiscal to Rs 6.2 lakh crore from Rs 4.8 lakh crore in FY23, the report said. However, despite the year-on-year growth, the capex spending is likely to be Rs 50,000 crore lower than the FY24 Budget estimates of Rs 6.7 lakh crore, Icra said. The aggregate fiscal deficit of these states for FY24 is expected to go up by Rs 60,000 crore to Rs 8.3 lakh crore as against the budgeted estimate of Rs 7.7 lakh crore, the ratings agency said. With revenue likely to trail budgeted targets, revenue and fiscal deficits of these states are expected to be Rs 2.1 lakh crore

Kerala's liquidity strained, seeks Centre's intervention over borrowing cap

Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal on Saturday said the state's liquidity position was severely stressed due to the reduction in the annual borrowing limit and sought the intervention of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman into the issue. In a letter written to the union finance minister, Balagopal said the liquidity stress got aggravated specifically because of the cut in the annual borrowing ceiling for the financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24. He said Kerala has been relying on its own sources of revenue for meeting the expenditure during recent years, unlike many other states. Balagopal said the decision of the Union Government to include the borrowing of institutions like KIIFB (Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board) and lower the annual borrowing limit of the state with retrospective effect was causing severe liquidity stress for Kerala. "I write this letter to invite your kind attention to the issue of liquidity stress being faced by Kerala due to the reduction

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah set to present State Budget today at 12 noon

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has arrived at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru to present the state budget

Raj cabinet discusses formation of new districts announced in state budget

Discussions regarding the formation of new districts announced in the Rajasthan budget 2023-24 were held in a cabinet meeting here on Friday evening. Decisions on recitation of Preamble and fundamental duties of the Constitution in schools, first increment in the interest of the employees in six months, more opportunities to the youth of the state in government service were also taken in the meeting chaired by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. The cabinet discussed the report presented by the Ramlubhaya Committee, which was formed to look into the demands of new districts, as well as memorandums received from different areas after the announcements of new districts. Discussions regarding the administrative boundaries of the new districts and on suggestions from people were held in the meeting. Gehlot had announced to form 19 new districts in the state budget this year. However, people in some areas have expressed unhappiness over the announcement. Protests have been held in some areas .

Assam government's 2021-22 budget unrealistic, overestimated, says CAG

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India on Thursday termed the Assam government's budget for 2021-22 as unrealistic and overestimated, and asked it to formulate expenses based on reliable assumptions. The CAG also pointed to the increasing growth rate of the state's public debt and recommended that it reduces revenue expenditure. In the State Finances Audit Report for the year ended March 31, 2022' tabled in the state assembly, the CAG said the actual receipts for the year were Rs 99,548.83 crore against the estimation of Rs 1,19,423.05 crore by the state government. This restricted the expenditure to Rs 1,07,814.62 crore against estimated spending of Rs 1,36,554.69 crore. Dubbing the budgetary assumptions as unrealistic and overestimated, the auditor said the state government should formulate a realistic budget based on reliable assumptions of likely resource mobilisation, the needs of the departments and their capacity to utilise the allocated resources so as to avoid

Subsidy for farm fencing to help nearly 100,000 farmers in Rajasthan

The announcements were made in the state Budget to strengthen and increase power generation in the state so that the farmers and general consumers get an uninterrupted power supply