Bhatti Vikramarak: A practical budget was presented after 25 years

For the first time in nearly two decades, the state of Telangana has received a pragmatic budget in which the Congress government has projected growth in rupees, whether through its own tax revenues, transfer of central taxes, or borrowings. This marks a significant shift compared to previous years, where the governments were obsessed with increasing outlays despite a sharp fall in revenue receipts and expenditure projections in the previous fiscal. For more details, visit Hindi Vaartha.

Ever since the Dr. Y.S. Rajashekar Reddy government presented a budget with an outlay of over Rs 1 lakh crore in 2008-09, subsequent governments followed the tradition of increasing budget outlays despite falling revenues. After bifurcation, both Telugu states continued the trend. On Wednesday, Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka projected a 7.3% growth rate in budget outlay, rising from Rs 2.91 lakh crore to Rs 3.04 lakh crore, contrasting with the over 14% growth rate projected by the previous BRS regime for nearly a decade. "We have taken this decision after careful consideration as the minimum growth in any case will be up to 10%. If we achieve more than this, the benefits will be passed on to the people," Bhatti said. "We have successfully demonstrated our commitment to women and youth welfare besides focusing on urban development," he added.

For instance, the BRS regime had projected a revenue increase of Rs 10,000 crore from taxes on sales and trade for 2022-23 to 2023-24, but the actual increase was only Rs 385 crore. The current government has shown a budget estimate (BE) of Rs 37,463 crore, compared to Rs 33,449 crore in the previous fiscal, which reflects a difference of just Rs 4,000 crore. The state received Rs 2,000 crore more from central tax transfers than the estimated Rs 25,639 crore in the previous fiscal, and the budget now puts the figure at Rs 29,899 crore. In contrast, the BRS government, despite fighting with the Centre to maintain high budget estimates in an election year, estimated a grant-in-aid of Rs 41,259 crore, but in reality, it received Rs 23,472 crore.

The Congress government, on the other hand, estimated a grant-in-aid of Rs 20,658 crore last year and received Rs 7,000 crore more. It has projected a modest increase of only Rs 2,000 crore for FY 2025-26 from the amount received in the current fiscal year. Regarding excise revenue, the government has shown no intention to increase revenue drastically and has projected a modest increase of Rs 2,000 crore. For more insights, visit Vaartha ePaper.

Talking about debt, the BRS government borrowed Rs 9,000 crore more from the open market in its last year in power than the estimated Rs 40,000 crore loan. The Congress government had estimated Rs 57,000 crore but was able to raise only Rs 56,940 crore as per the Revised Estimates (RE). However, for 2025-26, it projected Rs 64,539 crore through open market borrowings. One of the surprising elements in the budget was the 35% increase projected in revenue from registration and stamps. Despite a slowdown in the real estate market, the budget estimated a revenue of Rs 19,087 crore in the current fiscal, compared to the Revised Estimates of Rs 14,692 crore. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is confident that the real estate market will pick up soon, sources said.