Bhubaneswar, Feb 7 (IANS): Odisha Finance Minister Sashi Bhusan Behera on Thursday presented a Rs 56,921 crore vote-on-account for the first four months of 2019-20 fiscal while tabling the Rs 1.32 lakh crore interim budget for the full year of 2019-20 in the Assembly.

"Keeping in view the requirement of funds for expenditure on payment of salary, pension, interest, old-age pension, scholarship for SC and ST students, a sum of Rs 56,921 crore has been proposed in the vote-on-account to defray the expenses during the first four months of the financial year (April to July)," said Behera.

It would cover 100 per cent of budget estimates for calamity and election-related expenses and 40 per cent of budget estimates for all other schemes, said Behera.

The term of the 15th Assembly will expire in June. The new government will seek appropriation for the full financial year 2019-20.

The Finance Minister said Odisha's economy was expected to grow at 8.35 per cent in 2018-19, surpassing all-India growth rate of 7.2 per cent.

This comes on top of a robust average growth of 8 per cent plus in the last six years compared with the national average of 7.1 per cent.

"Going by the trends in the external and domestic economic environment, the state economy can be expected to grow in the range of 8-8.5 per cent during 2019-20," the minister said.