Bhubaneswar: In a significant milestone, Odisha has officialy become a USD 100 billion economy. State Annoncing this during his interim budget speech Finance Minister Bikram Keshari Arukha said that since 2015-16, the state has maintained an impressive average growth rate of 7.25 percent, exceeding the national average by approximately 1 percent.
During his interim budget address in the Assembly, Shri Arukha highlighted, “Based on advanced estimates for 2023-24, our state’s economy is forecasted to grow at 8.5 percent, outpacing the country’s growth rate of 7.3 percent. This reinforces Odisha’s position as a beacon of economic vitality within the nation.”
He attributed this achievement to the steadfast dedication and pro-development policies of the government, led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Following the budget speech, the Minister Arukha and Principal Secretary Finance, Vishal Dev, provided further details to the media. Regarding the state’s fiscal status, Arukha disclosed that by the end of 2024-25, the projected debt stock is expected to stand at 13.1 percent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), comfortably below the mandated level of 25 percent under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2003 (FRBM).
Qualitative Aspects of the Budget
The outlay of ₹1,40,000 crore for Programme Expenditure. The Programme Budget has increased by more than forty times from Rs.3,490 crore in 1999-2000, over a period of twenty-four years. 2 ❖ The proportion of Capital expenditure in Odisha to total budget is the highest among all major States in the country. The capital outlay in 2024-25 is ₹63,162 crore, which is about 6.8 per cent of GSDP. The capital outlay has gone up by more than seventy-nine times from Rs.799 crore during 1999-2000. ❖ Own Revenue – GSDP Ratio for 2024-25 (BE) is 12.25%; State’s own revenue contributing about 56% to the total revenue pool, thereby reducing our dependence of Central Transfers. ❖ Revenue Surplus projected at 4% of GSDP; Fiscal Deficit kept within the prescribed limit of 3% of GSDP.
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