Mumbai: Deputy Chief Minister and State Finance Minister Devendra Fadnavis has started presenting Maharashtra’s Budget for 2023-24 on Thursday. This marks the first Budget of the Eknath Shinde-Government ever since it came to power, toppling the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA Government.
Highlights:
Today’s Rate
Monday 07 Oct. 2024
• Rs 36,000 crore allocation for various mega infra projects.
• Based on Niti Aayog, Maharashtra to set up MITRA Sansthan.
• State government to provide premium for farmers under PM Krishi Bima Yojna. Apart from Rs 6,000 to individual farmers from the central scheme, the state promises additional Rs 6,000. It means every eligible farmer will be entitled for Rs 12,000.
• Paddy growing farmers will get Rs 15,000 incentive per hectare.
• To promote organic farming, 25 lakh hectares will be brought under organic farming.
• At Buldhana, advanced organge processing centre will be set up.
• Provision of Rs 1,234 cr for cashew processing units.
• Rs 350 crore set aside for forts conservation in Maharashtra
On Wednesday, Fadnavis tabled the Economic Survey of Maharashtra 2022-23 in the state Legislative Assembly. According to the survey, the State’s economy in 2022-23 is expected to grow at 6.8 percent as against 7 percent of the Indian economy. By comparison, the state economy expanded by 9.1 per cent in 2021-22.
According to the survey, the agriculture and allied sector will be the prime driver of the growth in the state economy in 2022-23, with an estimated increase of 10.2 per cent.
Subsidies provided by the Maharashtra government are shrinking whereas revenue expenditure on salaries, pensions and interest for servicing debt are rising.Around 30. 9% of revenue expenditure in the current fiscal (2022-23) has gone for salaries and wages alone followed by another 13. 2% on pensions. Out of the total Rs 4,27,780 crore revenue expenditure this fiscal, Rs 1,31,986 crore was spent on salaries and wages followed by Rs 56,300 crore on pension and Rs 46,763 crore (10. 9%) on interest. Expenditure on subsidies was Rs 28,111 crore (6. 6%), much lower than in the previous fiscal.
Industry in Maharashtra set to expand by 6.9%, services to decline
The manufacturing sector in Maharashtra is set to grow at 6. 9% for 2022-23 against 4. 2% in 2021-22, according to the state’s economic survey for 2022-23. Construction and mining/quarrying, which along with manufacturing form some of the broad categories in the industrial sector, are expected to grow by 4. 4% against 0. 9-1. 3% in the previous year. Overall, Maharashtra’s industrial sector is expected to grow by 6. 1% from 3. 8% in 2021-22.Up to November 2022, the number of industrial projects approved were 211 with an overall investment of Rs 35,870 crore. In sharp contrast, Gujarat with 168 projects has attracted investments worth Rs 98,159 crore. Up to September 2022, the state saw an inflow of Rs 62,425 crore in foreign direct investments (FDI) remaining in the forefront while Gujarat received FDI of Rs 26,866 crore. In 2021-22 the state received Rs 1. 15 lakh crore in FDI while Gujarat received only Rs 20,169 crore.
‘State’s debt burden stood at Rs 6. 8 lakh crore’
As per the latest RBI report on composition of outstanding liabilities as on March 31, 2023, the state’s debt burden stood at Rs 6. 8 lakh cr ore, while the economic survey said the burden stood at 6. 49 lakh crore. Maharashtra is at No. 3; Tamil Nadu with Rs 7. 53 lakh crore leads the list, followed by UP with debt burden of Rs 7. 1 lakh crore.
