Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu Recently Presents ₹58,514 Crore Budget for FY 2025-26.
Budget
In March 2025, Chief Minister (CM) of Himachal Pradesh (HP), Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who also holds the finance portfolio, recently presented a tax-free budget for the Financial Year 2025-26 (FY 26) amounting to Rs 58,514 crore, which is Rs 70 crore more than the previous year’s budget of Rs 58,444 crore.
- The budget primarily focuses on strengthening the economy, supporting farmers and workers, boosting tourism, and modernizing infrastructure, while simultaneously addressing the state’s financial challenges.
- For FY 26, the total revenue receipts are estimated at Rs 42,342.97 crore, and capital receipts are projected at Rs 14,602.37 crore, including Rs 13,374.74 crore from public debt and Rs 1,200.00 crore from the Provident Fund (PF). This brings the total receipts to Rs 56,945.34 crore.
- The Revenue Deficit for FY 26 is estimated at Rs 6,390.07 crore, and the Fiscal Deficit is projected at Rs 10,337.97 crore, which constitutes 4.04% of the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Main Point :- (i) To promote natural farming, the government plans to bring an additional 1 lakh farmers into this practice during FY 26, building upon the 1.58 lakh farmers who are already engaged in it.
(ii) Under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005, the daily wage rate has been increased from Rs 300 to Rs 320 to support rural workers.
(iii) As part of the ‘Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Nidhi Yojana’, Rs 1,500 financial assistance will be provided to women turning 21 between January 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026, as well as those working in others' homes from June 1, 2025, and their eligible daughters. Additionally, a Special Task Force (STF) will be formed to tackle rising drug abuse in the state.
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