Spotlight on populist schemes as debt mounts in Maha budget

Four months after winning the Maharashtra assembly elections on the back of a slew of populist schemes, the Mahayuti government's first budget after retaining power reflected an estimated debt of ₹9,32,242 crore for the financial year 2025-26, which is the highest in the state's history.

- Surendra P Gangan

MUMBAI:

The budget also estimates a fiscal deficit of a whopping ₹1.36 lakh crore and a revenue deficit of ₹45,892 crore, which are unprecedented and even higher than during the Covid-19 period.

Populist schemes worth ₹96,000 crore announced in last year's budget in June, weeks after the Mahayuti alliance received a drubbing in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, have left the state's economy bleeding. This appears to have stopped the Devendra Fadnavis government from announcing any new schemes or fulfilling the promises it had made in its manifesto for the assembly elections, including a loan waiver to farmers and increasing the monthly allowance for women under the Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme to ₹2,100 from ₹1,500.

Ajit Pawar's 11th budget as finance minister, worth ₹7 lakh crore, was largely a wrap-up of ongoing infrastructure projects and social welfare schemes or announcements that did not need major funds. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) expectedly received the biggest push, with the state government announcing that it will be developed as a "growth hub" with seven international business centres.

Lauding the budget, chief minister Fadnavis said, "It is a balanced budget, despite being a tremendous economic stress due to the populist schemes. We have kept the fiscal deficit and the debt rate well within the limits of the norms. Maharashtra has been on the top position in GST collection, foreign direct investment and the number of startups." The Opposition, however, slammed the budget, with Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray calling it "the most sham budget in history" and a "Ladka (beloved) Contractor budget".