Haryana Presents ₹2.05L-Cr Budget; Women, AI in Focus

Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini on Monday presented a ₹2.05 lakh crore budget for 2025-26 in the assembly, announcing several initiatives, including earmarking ₹5,000 crore for "Lado Lakshmi Yojana", establishing artificial intelligence (AI) hubs in Gurugram and Panchkula, and forming a department of future to aide other ministries with policy recommendations.

- Hitender Rao

CHANDIGARH:

The proposed budget outlay of ₹2.05 lakh crore for the financial year 2025-26 is around 8% higher than the ₹1.89 lakh crore proposed in the 2024-25 budget estimates announced by Saini's predecessor, Manohar Lal Khattar. The BJP-led state government revised its budget outlay to ₹1.80 lakh crore for 2024-25.

Presenting his maiden budget in the assembly, Saini, who also holds the finance portfolio, said the budget proposes an outlay of ₹2,05,017.29 crore for FY26, up 13.7% from the revised estimates of the ongoing fiscal.

As in the past few budgets, the proposed capital expenditure for 2025-26 also saw a decline, with the government committing ₹16,164.11 crore as compared to ₹16,280.94 crore proposed in the FY25 budget estimates.