Hyderabad: The deputy chief minister and finance minister of Telangana Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka presented the vote on account Budget for 2024-25 on Saturday, February 10, with an outlay of Rs 2,75,891 crore, with Rs 53,196 crore estimated to be spent on implementation of six guarantees.
Presenting the Budget in the Assembly, Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka pegged the revenue expenditure at Rs 2,01,178 crore and capital expenditure at Rs 29,669 crore.
However, the budget estimate will be revised and a full-fledged budget for 2024-25 will be released after the Lok Sabha elections.
Budget highlights
- An additional Rs 300 crore per month was allocated to TSRTC to support free travel for women.
- Welfare allocations were made towards SC, ST, BC and minorities welfare, that is Rs 21,874 crore, Rs 13,313 crore Rs 8,000 crore and Rs 2,262.
- The budget promised digital classrooms for all government schools and Rs 500 crore was proposed to establish Telangana Public Schools on a pilot basis.
- Recruitment of 15,000 police constables and the filling of over 64 Group-I posts.
- The Gruha Jyothi scheme was introduced to provide 200 units of free power to eligible families, with a budget of Rs 2,418 crore.
- Rs 7,740 crores proposed for the Indiramma housing scheme.
Budget 2024-25 reduced by nearly 5% from 2023-24
The 2023-24 budget was at Rs 2,90,396 crore while 2024-25, is at Rs 2,75,891 crore. There is a decrease of Rs 14,505 crore in the budget for 2024-25 compared to the previous year, indicating a reduction of nearly 5% from the 2023-24 budget to the 2024-25 budget.
In the 2023-24 budget former finance minister Harish Rao, revenue expenditure was projected at Rs 2.11 lakh crore and capital expenditure Rs 37,525 crore.
Presenting the Budget in the Assembly, Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said that the previous government had ruined the economy. “For instance, they allocated Rs 17,700 crore for the Dalit Bandhu Scheme however not a single paisa was spent on it. Likewise, there are discrepancies in many schemes,” the finance minister said.
“The state’s growth rate has declined by 1 per cent from 7.5 per cent last year to 6.5 per cent. The state’s GDP has increased from Rs 13.02 lakh crore to Rs 14.49 lakh crore in the financial year 2023-24, however, economic growth has declined to 11.3% from 14.7% in 2022-23,” added Bhatti.
What is vote-on-account budget approved by the Telangana government?
Vote on account budget or an interim budget is a short-term budget, valid for a short period, generally leading up to the elections.
The Telangana government has released its interim budget ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, which is generally passed without much discussion, unlike a complete budget.
The interim budget allows the government to carry out its function until the voting on the demands for grants, as well as the passing of the Finance Bill and the Appropriation Bill.
A vote-on-account budget only includes government expenditures, while an interim budget covers both receipts and expenditures.
