Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, who is also in charge of the Finance portfolio, will present the budget for the financial year 2025-26 on Monday in the state Legislative Assembly on Monday.
While speculation are rife over whether there will be any provision for any new schemes in the Budget, the state government has announced that priority will be given to solar power projects, the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, the Subhadra Yojana, input subsidies on rice for farmers, a pension of Rs 3,000 per month for the elderly, and the Ayushman Yojana.
It is anticipated that the size of the government’s budget for the financial year 2025-26 may reach Rs 2.85 lakh crore. In the last Budget, the state government had previously approved an expenditure estimate of Rs 2.65 lakh crore for the financial year 2024-25. Following this, a supplementary Budget of Rs 12.156 crore was sanctioned to expedite certain schemes and cover expenses for various government programmes.
In 2024-25, new schemes like Subhadra yojana, Samriddha Krishi Yojana, Madho Singh Hatha Kharcha were introduced. About Rs 10,000 crore was spent for Subhadra Yojana, Rs 5,000 crore for Samriddha Krishi Yojana and Rs 156 crore for Madho Singh Hath Kharcha.
According to Odisha Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan, the Budget for 2025-26 has been drafted with the aim of further accelerating the state’s development in the coming years. The government plans to introduce many new schemes and has prioritised employment, enhancing the earning capacity of the population, strengthening Odisha’s economic situation, industrialisation, and infrastructure development.