Bhubaneswar, Feb 17 (IANS): Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday presented the state budget with an outlay of Rs 2,90,000 crore for the financial year 2025-26 giving special focus on agriculture, infrastructure development, urbanisation and the industry sector.

The size of the budget for the current financial year of 2025-26 has been pegged at Rs 2.90 lakh crore as against the budgetary estimate of Rs 2.65 lakh crore for the 2024-25 fiscal.

CM Majhi, who also holds the finance portfolio, asserted that Odisha is aspiring to become a $1.5 trillion economy by 2047 and a growth engine for Viksit Bharat @2047. He noted that Odisha is aiming to become Samruddha Odisha by 2036, with $500 billion economy.

He also said that his government laid the foundation for the vision of Samruddha Odisha 2036 with the annual budget for the financial year 2025-26. “We are laying the foundation for Samruddha Odisha 2036 -- a vision of a prosperous and empowered Odisha. For us, Samruddhi is more than just economic growth; it signifies job creation, inclusive development, and equitable opportunities for every citizen,” said Majhi.

He said that the current budget has been meticulously crafted to turn this vision into reality with a special thrust on transformative sectors, like infrastructure, urban development, agriculture and irrigation, Capital Investment, port-led development, industrialisation and sports for all.

CM Majhi proposed to finance the budget outlay of Rs 2,90,000 crore mainly through revenue receipts of Rs 2,32,000 crore and borrowing and other receipts of Rs 58,000 crore. The Chief Minister also expressed confidence that the government will be able to generate a revenue surplus of about 3 per cent of GSDP and fiscal deficit will be limited to 3.2 per cent of GSDP for the year 2025-26.

He further added that the annual Budget for the 2025-26 financial year would be FRBM compliant. The programme budget has been pegged at Rs 1,70,000 crore for the 2025-26 financial year, which is about 59 per cent of the total Budget Estimates. Similarly, the capital outlay of Rs 65,012 crore estimated in this Budget is 6.1 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), which is one of the highest among all major States in the country.

CM Majhi allocated Rs 37,838 crore for agriculture and allied sector in the annual budget for 2025-26, which is about 12 per cent more than the previous year’s allocation. The outlay for the flagship Samrudha Krushak Yojana has been raised to Rs 6000 crore from Rs 5000 crore in the current budget. The CM announced an increase in the allocation for the Water Resources Department from Rs 13,272 crore in 2024-25 to Rs 14,895 crore in 2025-26, up by about 12 per cent.

CM Majhi also announced the creation of an autonomous body the ‘Highways Authority of Odisha’ on the lines of the ‘National Highways Authority of India’ (NHAI) aiming to expedite the execution of highway and expressway projects in the state. The government set the target to build 75,000 km of world-class roads till 2029-30 crafting a progressive road policy.

The Chief Minister also announced the allocation of Rs 820 crore for PM Surya Ghar Yojana, Rs 2,603 crore for Antyodaya Housing Scheme, Rs 193 crore under Gangadhar Meher Education Standard Enhancement Scheme to provide free bicycles for Class 9 students.