States Budget

Fiscal consolidation measures such as managing contingent liabilities, improving fiscal transparency, and enhancing the fiscal credibility of SDLs needed to address states' financial challenges

Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, L Murugan on Saturday said absence of a state's name in the Union Budget does not mean that funds were not allocated to them. He claimed that states are always getting sufficient funds from the Centre. Absence of the name of a state in the Union Budget does not mean no funds were allocated to it. Uttar Pradesh was not mentioned, Rajasthan was not mentioned. Even Madhya Pradesh was not mentioned. It does not mean that sufficient funds were not allocated, he told reporters. Further, he said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave his commitment to the people of Andhra Pradesh during his visit to the state earlier that similar to Viksit Bharat (developed India) the government will also go ahead for Viksit Andhra Pradesh. Earlier, addressing a press conference, the Union Minister highlighted several allocations made to the southern state in the Union Budget 2024-25. Customs duty exemption on shrimp production, impetus to natural

MP deputy CM Jagdish Devda announced an allocation of Rs 26,560 crore for the Women and Child Development Department in the budget, which is a massive boost of 81 per cent compared to FY24

Being revenue surplus, which indicates that the state exceeds its current receipts for its current expenditure, Telangana has been generous with its social welfare schemes

The future of key economic reforms seems to depend more on the states

B V R Subrahmanyam underscored the fundamental role the organisation can play in guiding states towards fulfilling their developmental objectives in consonance with the central government's growth

'Apart from punitive and regulatory measures, we need to empower girl child to decide about when to marry,' the finance minister said

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will set a record by presenting the sixth Budget in a row -- 5 annual Budgets and one interim -- a feat achieved so far only by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai. With the presentation of interim Budget on February 1, Sitharaman will surpass the records of her predecessors like Manmohan Singh, Arun Jaitley, P Chidambaram, and Yashwant Sinha, who had presented five budgets in a row. Desai, as Finance Minister, had presented five annual Budgets and one interim Budget between 1959-1964. The interim Budget 2024-25 to be presented by Sitharaman on February 1, will be a vote-on-account that will give the government authority to spend certain sums of money till a new government comes to office after the April-May general elections. As the Parliamentary elections are due, Sitharaman's interim Budget may not contain any major policy changes. Speaking at an industry event last month, Sitharaman had ruled out any "spectacular announcement" in the interi

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the government is close to reaching saturation in implementing social sector schemes designed to provide basic necessities to the poor. Addressing the students of Hindu College on the occasion of its 125th anniversary, she said the time has come for India to become economically 'aatmanirbhar' (self-reliant) and march forward to become a developed nation by 2047. Regretting that 60 years since Independence passed without any sense of urgency, Sitharaman said, "we have laid the material foundation for a Viksit Bharat" and empowering people by providing basic necessities to all. Even earlier government had schemes of providing houses, roads etc but the sense of urgency was missing, she said, adding, nearly 50 per cent of the population were devoid of fundamental things 50 or 60 years post independence. "So that's the underlying principle with which between 2014 and today we have done with a sense of urgency. Push the border forward,

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

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

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

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

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 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 ...

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, ...

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

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

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

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