Page 2 - States Budget

States' loan guarantee more than triples since FY17 to Rs 9.4 trn in FY23

The total loan guarantees extended by 17 major states to their entities have more than tripled to Rs 9.4 lakh crore by FY23 from Rs 3 lakh crore in FY17, says a report. While guarantees are contingent liabilities, they may pose a risk to states' fiscal health if a substantial proportion of the stock needs to be serviced by them, warranting robust guarantee monitoring and prudent extension of guarantees in the future so that the financial system as a whole remains resilient. States often sanction and issue on behalf of their various enterprises, cooperative institutions, and urban local bodies guarantees in favour of their lenders which are generally banks or other financial institutions. The total loan guarantees extended by the 17 major states to their entities have more than tripled to Rs 9.4 lakh crore as of FY23 from Rs 3 lakh crore in FY17. This is equivalent to the entire increase in such guarantees of these states during FY2017-22, Icra Ratings chief economist Aditi Nayar sai

States' indicative borrowing for fourth quarter higher than forecast

The government transferred the amount to states as tax devolution for financing various social welfare measures and infrastructure development schemes

States, ministries to make 'checklist' to manage data for Gati Shakti NMP

DPIIT, which is responsible for overseeing Gati Shakti NMP, has also prepared a document - a crucial resource for clarity and data management practices - for relevant stakeholders

High indebted Punjab, Himachal may breach BE of fiscal deficit in FY24

Punjab had over 40% debt as a proportion of GSDP in 2019-20 too, while Himachal Pradesh had 39.1%

States to boost fiscal health in FY24 with high revenue, capex: RBI report

The proportion of states' revenue in gross state domestic prod­uct (GSDP) is projected to reach 8.2 per cent in FY24, the highest sin­ce 2018-19

States debt to stay elevated at 31-32% this fiscal: CRISIL report

States' debt will remain elevated at 31-32 per cent of their gross domestic product amid higher capital outlays and moderate revenue growth this fiscal, with overall borrowings likely to rise by 9 per cent to over Rs 87 lakh crore, a report said. Indebtedness of a state is measured as the ratio of its debt to gross state domestic product (GSDP). Before Covid, the debt-GSDP ratio was at 28-29. But the aggregate gross fiscal deficit (GFD) as a ratio of GSDP is expected to remain at 2.5, well below the mandated level of 3 under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, according to a Crisil Ratings report. With lower-than-expected revenue growth, states are forced to borrow more to expand capital outlays, besides meeting high committed revenue expenditure related to salaries, pensions and interest costs. This, along with modest single-digit revenue growth, will keep the debt level high at 31-32 per cent of their gross domestic output. The report is based on the numbers ...

States to miss capex targets this fiscal on fall in revenue, polls : Report

Several states are likely to miss their capital expenditure targets for the ongoing fiscal due to polls and fall in revenue, according to an analysis. A steep fall in revenue receipts will further lead to a major compression in state capex, which during the first half of FY24 rose to a record 35 per cent, Icra Ratings Chief Economist Aditi Nayar said. To maintain their Budget estimates, 21 states -- whose capex and other macro data is available -- will have to ensure that the capex run run rate is maintained at 28 per cent in the second half, which is unlikely, since model code of conduct is likely to take effect in the March quarter before the general elections, Nayar said. The combined revenue and fiscal deficits of these 21 states widened to Rs 70,000 crore and Rs 3.5 lakh crore, respectively, in the April-September period, from Rs 50,000 crore and Rs 2.4 lakh crore, respectively, in the year-ago period. The report excludes Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Goa, Manipur, Meghalaya, ...

11 states budgeted revenue deficit in FY24 amid tapering grants: Report

The 15th finance commission has recommended revenue deficit grants worth Rs 2.95 trillion for 17 states between FY22 to FY26

Decoded: What is the government borrowing programme and calendar?

The Central Government adheres to a semi-annual borrowing calendar, while State Governments follow quarterly calendars

States, UTs to raise Rs 2.37 trn in Q3FY24 through market borrowings: RBI

Aditi Nayar, chief economist, ICRA, said the indicative borrowing amount for Q3FY24 is broadly along expected lines

States' financial profile better in FY23; debt stays high: RBI report

At a disaggregated level, a few large states have debt-to GSDP ratios exceeding 35 per cent, the report added

12 states to get Rs 66,413 crore in incentives for power sector reforms

The Ministry of Finance has granted permission to 12 state governments to raise financial resources of Rs 66,413 crore through borrowing permissions

At 23% spend, Andhra Pradesh leads laggards in state capex in FY23

Most large states have fallen behind their budgeted capex targets by a wide margin in FY23, which was pegged at Rs 7.4 lakh crore but could spend only Rs 5.71 lakh crore or 76.2 per cent only, according to an analysis. Only four states -- Karnataka, Sikkim, Arunachal and Bihar -- have over-achieved their targets, while Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh's capex spending stood at 98 per cent each. Eleven states fared better with 80 per cent target achievements, as per the analysis by Bank of Baroda economists. As against this, in FY21, the underachievement level was a high 72 per cent, primarily due to the pandemic emergency spending, and had improved to 95 per cent in FY22. Surprisingly, none of the 25 states whose data are available has been able to achieve the target by even three-fourths as the peak success rate is only 72.4 per cent, according to the analysis. This is surprising as the Centre had disbursed the required amounts for the year. The poor show was led by Andhra, which cou

Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry welcomes Tamil Nadu Budget

The local chapter of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Monday welcomed the Tamil Nadu Budget, particularly with the announcement of Metro Rail Project for Coimbatore allocating Rs 9,000 crore. State Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan presented the budget for 2023-24 in the Assembly today. In a statement, Chamber president B Sriramulu appreciated and thanked Chief Minister M K Stalin for announcing allocation of Rs 77,000 crore for developing Mega Power Project generating 14,500 MW of power by 2030. This will support industrial development and overcome power shortage problem, he said. To felicitate the students from Tamil Nadu to get trained to appear for Civil Services exams, he said the stipend of Rs 7,500 per student each for a period of 10 months will motivate them from this region to join the Civil Services. The announcement for integrated projects for planned development to be launched for Coimbatore Ezhilmigu Coimbatore and allocating Rs 172 crore for Semmozhi

Education, health to get highest share in Delhi's 2023-24 budget: Official

Education and health sector will get the highest allocation in the annual budget of the Arvind Kejriwal government for the 2023-24 financial year, officials said on Sunday. In the 2022-23 Delhi Budget, the education sector received the highest allocation of Rs 16,278 crore, a slight decline from the previous fiscal budgetary outlay of Rs 16,377 crore. The health was allocated Rs 9,769 crore in the 2022-23 budget while it was Rs 9,934 crore in the previous budget. According to government officials, new tablets will be provided to all teachers, including regular, guest and contractual, vice principals and principals of Delhi government schools. "Dr Ambedkar Schools of Specialized Excellence (SoSE) started with 20 institutes in 2021. This will be increased to 37 in the coming financial year with a capacity of about 10,000 children," said an official. The official said Delhi government schools will work closely with their feeder schools in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to improve

States' capital budgets: Spending, classification can be variable exercise

Most of the other major states, including Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, Telangana and Haryana, hew close to either extreme

Eye on 2024 polls, Andhra Budget allocates lion's share for welfare

Keeping its interests in mind ahead of the Assembly elections scheduled for 2024, the Andhra Pradesh government has allocated the lion's share of the state Budget -- more than Rs 54,000 crore of the total Rs 2,79,279 crore -- to Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) schemes, targeting potential voter segments such as pensioners, farmers, students and women. Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath tabled the 2023-24 Budget in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday. Andhra Pradesh has for long focused on governance that balances both welfare and development, and its budgetary allocation of as much as Rs 54,228 crore for DBT schemes is in keeping with that model. The increase of about 10 per cent in the allocation, from Rs 48,882 crore in 2022-23, indicates that the government has its eye on the upcoming elections next year. The DBT schemes include YSR Pension Kanuka (Rs 21,435 crore) for senior citizens, persons with disabilities and transgender persons; YSR Rythu Bharosa (Rs 4,020 crore), which

Budget session of Himachal Pradesh Assembly to commence on March 14

The budget session of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly will commence on March 14 and Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu will present the budget for 2023-24 on March 17. Speaking to mediapersons on Friday, Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania said the 24-day session would have 18 sittings. There will be two private member's days on March 16 and 24. The budget would be passed on March 29, Pathania said. He said the Assembly secretariat has so far received 543 starred questions -- 391 online and 152 offline -- and 189 un-starred questions. The general discussion of the budget would be held on March 20, 21, 22 and 23, while discussion on demands for grants would be held on March 27, 28 and 29. An all-party meeting presided over by the speaker would be held ahead of the session on March 13.

Shinde govt's 1st budget offers relief in professional tax, aid for farmers

The Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government on Thursday presented its maiden Budget for 2023-24 in which it proposed Rs 6,000 assistance to farmers and Re 1 crop insurance scheme while also offering relief in professional tax to working women, 50 per cent discount on ticket fares to women in state-run buses and a new scheme for the girl child. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is also the state Finance Minister, presented a revenue deficit budget of Rs 16,222 crore in the Legislative Assembly with a total outlay of Rs 1,72,000 crore. Announcing a crop insurance scheme for farmers at Re 1, the deputy CM said the government will bear the financial burden of Rs 3,312 crore. "Under the earlier crop insurance scheme, the farmers had to pay two per cent of the crop insurance premium. Now, the farmers will not need to pay anything as the government will pay the premium amount," he said. Apart from this, the budget also proposed the 'Namo Shetkari Mahasanman Scheme', under whi

Maharashtra plans benefits to girl child, financial security of women

The government will open 700 clinics in the state under the Hindu HridaySamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Aapla Dawakhana offering free medical tests, therapy and treatment