Maharashtra's fiscal masterstroke, or is it?

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the finance portfolio now, presented Maharashtra's Budget for 2026-27 on Friday.

- By Roshan Kishore and Abhishek Jha

The state government will spend ₹7.69 lakh crore in the coming fiscal year without breaching the fiscal deficit limit of 3% of GSDP. More importantly, the state has achieved a formidable feat of having maintained its deficit levels around the budgeted levels despite spending ₹55,000 crore more than budgeted in the fiscal year which will end on March 31. This has been made possible by higher-than-expected revenue receipts