Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Odisha Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari claimed that the estimated outlay for the current financial year is the “highest” in the history of the state budget, and is around 17.6 per cent more than the Rs 1.7 lakh crore allocated for the last fiscal. He also said Rs 1 lakh crore of the total budgetary estimates is the planned expenditure.
According to the reports, Minister Niranjan Pujari said “Over the last twenty-two years, there had been a seventeen-fold increase in the size of the state budget and we are touching the landmark figure of Rs 2 lakh crore this year.”
The capital outlay in FY23 was estimated at Rs 38,732 crore, which was around 5.4 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product. Additionally, loans and grants for creation of capital assets and other expenditure for capital formation together account for Rs 11,933 crore.
While presenting the budget in the House, Pujari said the outlay is proposed to be financed mainly through revenue receipts of Rs 1,63,967 crore and borrowing and other receipts of Rs 36,033 crore. The total revenue receipts for the 2022-23 year include the state’s share of central taxes at Rs 36,978 crore, its own tax revenue at Rs 46,000 crore, own non-tax revenue for Rs 48,200 crore and grants from the Centre at Rs 32,789 crore.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik stated that the state budget is “progressive, pro-poor and development-oriented. The objective of the budget is to create quality healthcare facilities, strengthen education ecosystem, improve life and livelihoods and women empowerment besides infrastructure development. The capital spending will increase by more than 56 per cent, which will foster growth, Patnaik said, adding that a separate budget for ‘Mission Shakti’ with allocation of Rs 2,000 crore will further deepen the state’s engagement with 70 lakh women.
The finance minister proposed a Rs 911-crore allocation for the Sports and Youth Services Department. He also allocated Rs 325 crore for land acquisition, construction, renovation, expansion work at Rourkela, Jeypore, Utkela and Jharsuguda airports, and renovation of the Birashala airstrip. An allocation of Rs 547 crore has been proposed in the budget for development of rail projects in the state.
The Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana’ has received a budgetary support of Rs 2,664 crore, while the FM allocated Rs 1,874 crore for providing assistance to farmers under the KALIA scheme. Rs 1,023 crore has been allocated for the state’s food security-related programmes.
