Haryana Finance Minister Abhimanyu Singh Sindhu has got key portfolios such as excise & taxation, industry & commerce, planning & institutional finance. But it is going to be a daunting task for him.
The 47-year-old, first-time minister will have to tread carefully as the state's finances are not in good health.
The state in its annual budget estimates of 2014-15 projected a revenue deficit of Rs 5,012 crore. The debt burden of the state increased exponentially to Rs 81,806 crore from Rs 60,159 crore in the year 2012-13.
The BJP in its election manifesto had announced raising the old-age pension to Rs 2,000 a month from Rs 750 a month and also announced other incentives such as unemployment allowance of Rs 6,000 a month to the class XII passouts and Rs 9,000 a month to unemployed graduates.
While the state has a burgeoning power subsidy bill of about Rs 5,600 crore a year, it has the highest T&D (transmission and distribution) power losses among the northern states.
Political observers said the state might get some relief from the Centre in the form of central sales tax arrears which are approximately Rs 7,000 crore but the avenues of income generation are limited in the state.
Haryana has been an agrarian state and tax receipts from agriculture are not flexible. Two major industries in Haryana - automobile and software - are in the grip of economic slowdown and there have been no expansions in the last few quarters.
Auto manufacturers such as Maruti and Honda expanded to other industry friendly states in the past few years undermining the growth of ancillary units in the state.
Abhimanyu proved his mettle as the national spokesperson of the BJP and is a cynosure of BJP top brass. He would need a pragmatic planning to pull the state out of growth stagnation in agriculture and industry.
