Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Thursday conducted a comprehensive review of the state’s financial position and expenditure progress for the financial year 2025–26 at a secretaries-level meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Anu Garg at Kharavela Bhawan.
The meeting assessed the utilisation of budget allocations by various departments up to the end of February 2026 and issued directions to ensure full utilisation of funds by the end of the current financial year. Officials were also asked to prepare for the smooth implementation of new schemes and programmes proposed in the upcoming 2026–27 budget.
Development Commissioner-cum-Additional Chief Secretary Deoranjan Kumar Singh, along with Additional Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries and Commissioner-cum-Secretaries of different departments, attended the meeting.
According to the review, the state’s overall expenditure increased by 9.3 per cent compared to the same period last year, while programme expenditure registered a 14 per cent rise.
Sector-wise data showed significant increases in several departments. Expenditure in the Agriculture Department rose by 13 per cent, while the Fisheries and Animal Resources Department recorded a sharp 39 per cent increase. The Cooperation Department witnessed a 56 per cent rise in budget utilisation.
In the infrastructure sector, spending by the Energy Department increased by 43 per cent.
Similarly, expenditure in the social sector—including the School and Mass Education, ST & SC Development, Minorities & Backward Classes Welfare, Social Security & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Women & Child Development, and Mission Shakti departments—grew by 19 per cent compared to the previous year.
During the review, the Chief Secretary examined department-wise expenditure trends and directed officials to accelerate programme spending to meet the targeted overall expenditure growth by the end of FY 2025–26.
She also instructed departments to ensure that revenue collection targets are achieved.
Garg further emphasised that preparations must begin for effective implementation of the new schemes, programmes and major initiatives announced in the 2026–27 budget, once approvals are received. Departments have been asked to coordinate and hold discussions with relevant secretaries to ensure readiness.
The meeting also discussed the integration of artificial intelligence in governance as part of the state government’s emphasis on the State AI Mission, an initiative prioritised by the Chief Minister.
During the meeting, India-based artificial intelligence institution Sarvam AI made a presentation proposing collaboration with the Odisha government. The organisation suggested deploying AI tools across departments to make administrative processes faster, easier and more efficient.
Sarvam AI has an agreement with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, and has been recognised at the India AI Summit.
If implemented, the collaboration could enable features such as multilingual voice-based assistance, real-time data analytics and automated drafting of government documents in departments.
The technology could also support farmer advisory services, subsidy awareness programmes and public grievance redressal, with the aim of making governance more transparent and citizen-centric.
