Odisha Finance Minister Presents Rs 2 Lakh Cr Budget for FY 23

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari on Saturday presented the annual budget of Rs 2 lakh crore for the year 2022-23 in the state Assembly.

“Over last twenty-two years, there has been a seventeen-fold increase in budget size and this year, we are touching the landmark figure of Rs 2 lakh crore,” Pujari said.

The total programme expenditure outlay for the financial year 2022-23 is estimated at Rs 1 lakh crore. In addition, Rs 10,000 crore will be spent through off-budget sources and by public sector undertakings (PSUs), he said.

The administrative revenue expenditure is estimated at Rs 89,590 crore while Rs 3,210 crore has been allocated for disaster risk management fund and Rs 7,200 crore for transfers from state.

The capital outlay is Rs 38,732 crore, which is about 5.4 per cent of GSDP and 56 per cent increase over the previous year.

The outlay is proposed to be financed mainly through revenue receipts of Rs 1,63,967 crore and borrowing and other receipts of Rs 36,033 crore, he pointed out.

A budget stabilization fund would be set up with a corpus of Rs 10,000 crore, which is the first of its kind in a state in India, he said, adding, “This would help us set aside certain surplus revenue for times of unexpected revenue shortfall or budget deficit.”

This budget focuses on achieving inclusive prosperity through human development, creation of physical and social infrastructure, provision of social safety nets for the disadvantaged and vulnerable sections and empowerment of women, youth, ST, SC, OBC, minorities, differently-abled and senior citizens, Pujari said.

A total sum of Rs 12,624 crore has been proposed for public health care, which is an increase of about 25 per cent over previous year’s provision.

Similarly, an allocation of Rs 27,324 crore has been made for the education and skill development sector and Rs 21,166 crore for agriculture & allied activities.

For conserving and developing the places of religious and cultural importance, the state has allocated Rs 1,950 crore under different schemes for the year 2022-23.

Similarly, Rs 830 crore has been earmarked for development of tourism sector, Rs 911 crore for sports, Rs 7,850 crore for rural drinking water supply, Rs 7,258 crore for housing & urban development department, Rs 2,000 crore for the Mission Shakti department, Rs 1,023 crore for Re 1 per kg rice scheme and Rs 32,596 crore for SC & ST development

Stating that it is a progressive, pro-poor and development-oriented budget, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said priority of the budget is to create quality healthcare facilities, quality education including school transformation, life and livelihoods, women empowerment as well as infrastructure development.

“The capital spending will increase by more than 56 per cent, which will foster growth. The separate budget for Mission Shakti with allocation of Rs 2,000 crore will further deepen our engagement with 70 lakh women of our state,” he said.

Further, he said the initiative to create a budget stabilization fund will help in mitigating any revenue shock in future.

Notably, the Odisha government had presented a vote-on-account budget of Rs 1.06 lakh crore for the first four months (April to July) of the financial year 2022-23 in March in view of panchayat and urban elections.

Here are the key highlights:

(IANS)