Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s first budget, tabled last week, must have come in one of the shortest spans in governance in recent memory. The BJP government officially took charge on June 12 and was straightaway expected to deliver a full budget—a daunting task. Budget preparation is a continuous exercise, but the change in government necessitated that the first budget of Majhi, who dons the role of finance minister too, was aligned with the party’s vision for the state and fulfilled the promises made to the people who powered it to dislodge the Naveen Patnaik government. The enormity of expectations notwithstanding, Majhi had to deliver.
With an outlay of Rs 2.63 lakh crore, 15 percent bigger than the previous one, the budget thus was on the expected lines. Some of the major announcements included a higher support price for paddy at Rs 3,100 a quintal entailing a provision of Rs 5,000 crore, Rs 10,000 crore under Subhadra Yojana to provide Rs 50,000 cash vouchers to adult women, and corpus funds for promoting and protecting the Jagannath temple and ‘Odia asmita’. Key social segments such as farmers, women and tribal communities were given due importance. And over 40 popular schemes of the previous government were continued under new names, with a bit of tweaking in the structures that invited the opposition’s taunts. On balance, Majhi has been pragmatic.
The government has devoted an impressive 22 percent of the 2024-25 budget to infrastructure development. The health sector saw a 32 percent jump in allocation and the farm sector a similarly healthy 37 percent increase in outlay. Skill development and tourism received attention. Majhi’s focus has been on capital expenditure, which has grown from Rs 66,910 crore last year to Rs 81,436 crore.
With new schemes on the anvil, programme budget has been raised substantially to Rs 1.55 lakh crore, up about 24 percent. With earnings from mining likely to grow further, this state government seems surefooted in the face of huge challenges ahead. Promises such as filling up 1.5 lakh vacant government posts and creating 3.5 lakh new jobs through mega industrial ventures will require much more financial heft and planning. The Majhi government has started well, but with a strong opposition at its throat, its fiscal management will be tested.