BHUBANESWAR: Much ahead of the general budget for 2023-24, the Odisha government has started preparation for budget estimates with a focus on education, health, water supply, connectivity, sanitation and urban amenities.
The annual Budget for 2023-24 will be presented in the Assembly in February, next year and the total expenditure is likely to increase by about 12 per cent in 2023-24 over the current year’s revised estimates considering the need for higher capital spending. The State government had presented a budget of Rs 2 lakh crore for 2022-23.
As the priority is to ensure quality universal education, health services and livelihood to all citizens, the government is keen on focusing the spending on higher capital investment in these sectors besides drinking water, irrigation, rural connectivity and civic amenities.
Principal Secretary of Finance department Vishal Kumar Dev has communicated the ceiling to all departments and has asked all Secretaries and Heads of departments to submit expenditure estimates by December 15.
Departments have been asked to identify sectoral priorities in line with the State’s preferences and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) wherever relevant and not to make allocations under State Sector Schemes that are not appraised by Standing Finance Committee (SFC)/Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC).
Since separate budget lines for Central and State share under each Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) are being maintained, the departments will have to propose allocation for such schemes and Central Sector Schemes taking into account the likely level of Central assistance to be received for the schemes.
A Finance department official said though the State’s own revenues are expected to register moderate growth in 2023-24, the grant-in-aid from the Centre is projected to fall due to the cessation of GST compensation to the states.
“All the departments will be communicated with a multi-year ceiling for the next three years so that they would have predictability in fund flow and can make multi-year project planning,” he said.
While the RBI has projected India’s economy to grow around 7.2 per cent in this fiscal and will have a growth of 6.5 pc in 2023-24, the economy is projected to register higher growth of about 8 pc in 2022-23 as well as in 2023-24 in Odisha.
Despite the recovery of the economy post-pandemic, the State government expects, a fall in iron ore prices will partially affect the revenue from the mining sector during 2022-23. It would, however, be able to realise revenue at the level of budget estimation by compensating for the shortfall through higher tax revenue.