The Budget session of the Telangana State Legislative Assembly is expected to be held in the first week of February, with Finance Minister T Harish Rao presenting the State Budget for 2023-24 on either February 3 or February 5. Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao is expected to make a decision on this matter at a high-level meeting on the State Budget on Saturday at Pragathi Bhavan.
With the presentation of the Union Budget for 2023-24 in Parliament on February 1, the State government will gain clarity on the Central government’s budgetary allocations, including the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) limits and tax devolutions (States’ share of Central taxes).
According to official sources, the State Budget for 2023-24 is expected to be in the range of Rs 2.85 lakh crore to Rs 3 lakh crore. The Finance Department began Budget preparations a few weeks ago, obtaining necessary proposals from all government departments for various schemes and programs being implemented in the State, as well as salaries and other expenditures. The Budget will be fine-tuned and presented in the Assembly after the Centre’s allocations to Telangana for 2023-24 are determined.
According to sources, despite fiscal constraints imposed by the Central government and delays in the release of funds for various schemes during this fiscal, Telangana recorded an impressive 19-20% increase in State-owned Tax Revenue (SOTR), which is considered to be the highest in the country.
The SOTR includes both tax and non-tax revenue, allowing the state to contribute to the growth of the nation.
Experts estimate that Telangana lost nearly Rs 15,000 crore in SOTR due to the Centre’s restrictions in 2022-23. However, preliminary estimates show that Telangana continues to grow at a faster rate in terms of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), at more than 10% at constant prices.
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The budget outlay for 2022-23 was Rs 2.56 lakh crore, which included Rs 1.89 lakh crore in revenue expenditure and Rs 29,728.44 crore in capital expenditure, for a total expenditure of Rs 2.18 lakh crore. According to sources, the overall expenditure has already surpassed Rs 2 lakh crore due to increased SOTR and is expected to exceed Rs 2.15 lakh crore by the end of this financial year, indicating promising growth.
Though the State Budget is traditionally presented in March, the Chief Minister is said to have asked officials to complete the fiscal exercise and make plans to present the State Budget in February. “As the union Budget will be presented on February 1, we will get complete clarity on the allocations to our State. Hence, the Chief Minister felt that there was no point delaying the State Budget any further,” official sources said.
It has been learned that after completing the Budget session in February and putting the State on the path of growth, Chandrashekhar Rao intends to shift his focus to national politics by the end of February. With the overwhelming success of the BRS public meeting in Khammam, the Telangana development model of development has grabbed the attention of people across the country.
According to sources close to the Chief Minister, Chandrashekhar Rao is eager to utilise on this public attention and spark debate on the ‘national agenda’ proposed by the BRS across the country.
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