Telangana budget unlikely to cross Rs 3 lakh crore mark

Hyderabad:The government is expected to present the Budget for the financial year 2025-26 in March. The outlay is expected to remain less than Rs 3 lakh crore, a figure that it never touched since the state’s formation in 2014.

The state’s first budget for nine months of 2014-15 stood at Rs 1,00,637 crore. For the current fiscal 2024-25, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka presented a budget with an expenditure outlay of Rs 2.91 lakh crore. Sources in the finance department have indicated that the revised estimates would be at Rs 2.55 lakh crore, which is Rs 36,000 crore lower from the original projections.

The lower expenditure is attributed to a shortfall in revenue generation, compared to the previous fiscal year 2023-24.

According to a report submitted to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in January, Telangana's total expenditure for 2024-25 stood at `1,57,495.91 crore by the end of December 2024, representing just 61.90 per cent of the budgeted estimates.

Revenue expenditure accounted for `1,32,200.15 crore, or 59.83 per cent of ` 2,20,944.81 crore budgeted, while capital expenditure was `25,295.76 crore, marking just 75.54 per cent of the planned `33,486.50 crore.

The revenue deficit swelled to `19,892.85 crore by December 2024 (`14,288.37 crore in November). This stands in stark contrast to the originally projected revenue surplus of `297.42 crore.

The fiscal deficit also rose to `48,178.94 crore, up from `37,850.08 crore in November, and now accounts for 97.81 per cent of the estimated `49,255.41 crore fiscal deficit.

In view of these financial constraints, the state government is likely to present a Budget within the range of `2.92 lakh crore to `2.99 lakh crore, avoiding the `3 lakh crore target.

The state’s revenue receipts in 2024-25 also showed signs of strain.

By December 2024, total revenue receipts amounted to `1,12,307.30 crore, 50.76 per cent of the budgeted `2,21,242.23 crore and behind the 57.72 per cent achieved during the same period in 2023.

While tax revenue crossed the `1 lakh crore threshold at `1,02,047.98 crore (62.07 per cent of the `1,64,397.64 crore target), this was a slight dip compared to the 65.37 per cent the previous fiscal year. GST collections stood at `37,664.91 crore, 64.28 per cent of the target, and stamp duty collections dropped to `7,524.42 crore, down from `9,524.19 crore in November.

On the brighter side, sales tax collections saw a substantial increase, `24,035.11 crore (71.86 per cent of the target), reflecting an improvement over last year’s performance. Excise duties were lower at `14,078.39 crore, 54.96 per cent of the `25,617.53 crore budgeted amount.

Non-tax revenue also saw a steep decline, amounting to just `5,487.88 crore, or 15.59 per cent of the `35,208.44 crore target — significantly lower than the 89.14 per cent reported in 2023. Despite these challenges, capital receipts stood at `48,210.81 crore (91.28 per cent of the `52,815.41 crore target), indicating a slightly better performance compared to the previous year.