Finance Minister O.P. Choudhary said while the previous year’s budget laid a strong foundation for inclusive development, the current one has presented the next step in that growth journey
On Monday, the Chhattisgarh government unveiled its ₹1,65,000 crore fiscal 2025–2026 budget, which includes ₹10,000 crore for increasing farm prosperity and significant spending for food security and women’s welfare programs.
The Finance Minister said that to promote ease of doing business, the government had set a target of implementing 216 reforms in 20 departments in the first phase
March 3, Raipur The Chhattisgarh government has made a big decision by deciding to raise the dearness allowance for its workers to 53%. This will be paid in April along with the salaries for the month of March.
Also, he declared that on November 1st of this year, a document called ‘Amritkaal: Chhattisgarh Vision 2047’ will be dedicated to the people with the intention of turning the state from a developing to a developed one.
Regarding the ‘Amritkaal: Chhattisgarh Vision 2047’ paper, he stated that the first mid-term objective for realizing the vision under it is to double the GSDP from Rs 5 lakh crore to Rs 10 lakh crore by 2028 during the next five years.
“The budget is focused on the economic development of GYAN, gareeb (poor), yuva (youth), annadata (farmers) and naari (woman), stimulating infrastructure growth by increasing capital expenditure, as well as employment and livelihood promotion for youth,” he stated.
“The budget is an important step towards fulfilling the promises made under the ‘Modi ki guarantee’ prior to the election,” he continued. “The previous (Congress) government mistreated Gareeb, Yuva, Annadata, and Naari throughout the past five years. He claimed that in addition to denying the impoverished their right to a roof, there were also illegal fertilizer sales, forced sales of subpar vermicompost made from cow dung for Rs 10 per kg, and the purchase of cow dung for Rs 2 per kg.
According to the minister, the previous government promised to pay women Rs 500 but didn’t follow through. According to him, the Deendayal Upadhyay Bhoomiheen Krishi Majdoor Yojana has been allocated Rs 500 crore, which will increase the yearly support given to landless laborers from Rs 7,000 to Rs 10,000.
“A budget of Rs 3,000 crore has been made for Mahtari Vandan Yojana to make women of the state self-reliant (under which Rs 1000 per month will be given to married women),” the minister said, adding that Rs 8,369 crore has been set aside for the construction of 18 lakh houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Rs 10,000 crore under the Krishak Unnati Yojana to strengthen small and medium farmers, and Rs 4,500 crore for the Jal Jeevan Mission.
With a budget of Rs 35 crore, a citizen initiative for Shri Ram Lalla Darshan (visiting Ayodha Dham) has been planned, the minister stated.
He went on to say that the Chhattisgarh Higher Education Mission Scheme will be put into place to reinforce the National Education Policy’s requirements.
“A State Capital Region (SCR) will be established covering Raipur and Bhilai cities
In addition to encouraging the use of solar rooftops, e-vehicles, and the Kusum Yojna, among other initiatives, a climate action plan will be established to reduce carbon emissions, the minister stated. According to Choudhary, the budget has allocated Rs 5 crore for the ‘Invest Chhattisgarh’ event. “No tax proposal has been made for 2024–2025, and the current tax rates have not been raised.
Positive efforts have resulted in a projected 22% increase in the state’s revenue without the need for new taxes or an increase in tax rates,” he stated.
According to estimates, the state’s gross fiscal deficit in 2024–2025 will be Rs 19,696 crore (including Rs 3,400 crore from the Union government’s Special Assistance for Capital Expenditure), while its net fiscal deficit will be Rs 16,296 crore, or 2.90 percent of GSDP, Choudhary informed the House.
He said that this falls within the 3% cap outlined in the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (FRBM Act). The expected total revenue surplus for 2023–2024 is Rs 1,060 crore.
According to him, Chhattisgarh is one of the progressive states that continues to have a revenue surplus. According to the minister, the proposed capital expenditure for 2024–2025 is Rs 22,300 crore, or 15% of the budget outlay and 10% more than that of 2023–2024. The minister informed the House that this is an increase from the average capital spending of 12% over the previous five years.
