Congress debut budget to be vote-on-account; pegged at Rs 3 lakh crore

Deputy CM and Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka will present the debut State budget of the Congress government, with a full budget for the financial year 2024-25 likely to be presented in July-August, later this year

Hyderabad: With a marginal hike of four to five per cent over last year’s Rs 2.9 lakh crore budget, the State government is likely to present a vote-on-account budget for 2024-25 in the Telangana State Legislative Assembly on Saturday. This budget is pegged at around Rs.3 lakh crore.

Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka will present the debut State budget of the Congress government, with a full budget for the financial year 2024-25 likely to be presented in July-August, later this year.

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Under Article 116 of the Constitution, a vote-on-account is presented to meet essential government expenditure for a limited period until the budget is approved. It is generally presented by a government in an election year to cover short-term expenditure requirements before the new fiscal begins. Recently, the newly-elected Rajasthan government also opted for a vote-on-account budget.

Sources said that though it is an elected government with full majority to present a full budget, the Revanth Reddy government chose to introduce a vote-on-account budget. The reasons being cited are lack of clarity on Central grants for Telangana in the absence of a comprehensive budget at the Centre and also mounting debts of Telangana.

“Due to increased debt burden, the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister are of the view that Telangana should secure maximum share in Central grants as well as the Centrally Sponsored Schemes. As there is no clarity about Telangana’s share in the union budget, the officials have been asked to prepare a vote-on-account budget,” official sources said.

However, Bhatti Vikramarka is expected to hint at the allocations to be made for the State government’s flagship ‘Six Guarantees’ promised during the recent Assembly polls. Initial estimation for implementing all the 13 promises under ‘Six Guarantees’, is being pegged at more than Rs.45,000 crore, if implemented in toto, without any riders.

Official sources hinted at discontinuing or reducing budget allocations to certain existing schemes and replacing them with new schemes as per the new Congress government’s priorities. “All the departments have been instructed to explore fresh options for improving revenue resources, and also ensure optimal usage of the funds,” a senior official in the Finance department added.