Mumbai, Feb 10 (IANS) The Business Advisory Committees of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and Council, at their meetings held on Tuesday, approved the schedule for the upcoming budget session of the state legislature from February 23 to March 25.
The Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who holds the Planning and Finance Departments after the sudden and untimely death of former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, will present the annual budget for 2026-27 on March 6.
The government will present the Economic Survey for 2025-26 on March 5. Both houses of the state legislature on the first day of February 23 will express condolences over the death of Ajit Pawar. The government will also lay papers and present the supplementary demands on the same day.
The BJP-led MahaYuti government is expected to corner the opposition during various debates, especially in the wake of its successive victories in the elections to the nagar panchayats, nagar parishads, municipal corporations, panchayat samitis and zilla parishads.
The government is expected to roadmap for the implementation of a much more ambitious Vision Document to achieve a USD 5 trillion under the Viksit Maharashtra 2047 mission.
The government will present the budget for 2026-27 when the state public debt has crossed Rs 9.30 lakh crore. The Revenue Deficit is targeted at 0.9 per cent of GSDP (Rs 45,891 crore).
This is a significant increase from 0.6 per cent in 2024-25, primarily due to large-scale welfare schemes. The Fiscal Deficit is targeted at 2 per cent of GSDP (Rs 1,36,235 crore), staying within the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act’s 3 per cent limit.
The Debt-to-GSDP Ratio, which is historically around 17-18 per cent, was projected to remain sustainable but under observation due to increased borrowings for capital projects.
In the case of Committed Expenditure, approximately 56 per cent of revenue receipts are consumed by salaries (31 per cent), pensions (13 per cent), and interest payments (12 per cent).
The state’s fiscal health is characterised by steady growth in the GSDP but under pressure from high committed expenditures and new cash-transfer schemes.
The Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) was projected at Rs 49.39 lakh crore, a 9 per cent growth over the previous year (current prices).
The total expenditure was estimated at Rs 7,00,020 crore (excluding debt repayment), an increase of 4 per cent from the 2024-25 revised estimates.
Moreover, the government is expected to release an action plan for the effective implementation of administrative reforms to curb red tape.
–IANS
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