Annual Budget Of Odisha To Be Presented In State Assembly Today

Photograph: Ashok Panda

Bhubaneswar: The annual budget of Odisha for the year 2018-19 will be presented in the State Assembly by the Finance Minister Shashi Bhushan Behera in the afternoon on Friday.

The volume of the budget is most likely to exceed Rs 1.20 lakh crore.

Considering that the annual budget is the last budget before the 2019 General and Assembly elections, it is expected that the state government, in an attempt to woo the voters, will make the budget more people-friendly.

The main focus of the budget will be on agriculture, farmer, education, health, transport, irrigation, drinking water, infrastructure and rural development.  Most likely the emphasis will be on the poor, middle class, students, youth and women.

“It will be a people-friendly budget. Usually, the budget is prepared according to the need of the poor and common man along with all major issues like agriculture, health, education, social security etc., which have been reflected in this annual budget,” the Finance Minister said.

The total outlay of the last year’s Budget was Rs 1.06 lakh crore while the state government had incurred loan to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore from the open market to meet targeted spending.