Agartala: Tripura Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy on Monday tabled the budget proposals worth Rs 34,212 for the fiscal year 2025-2026 with a deficit of Rs 240 crore. The overall budget proposals had been increased by 5.52 percent in comparison to the last fiscal year, the Finance Minister has said.
No additional taxes had been proposed in the budget proposals rather than the existing ones.
According to the budget proposals, the state government’s total receipts under Revenue Account stands at Rs 26,881.99 crore, the expenditure under this head stands at Rs 25,266 crore leaving a surplus of Rs 1,615 crore.
In the capital account, the state’s total receipts including that from the loans and other sources stand at Rs 7,089.60 crore The expenditure in the capital account is pegged at Rs 8,945 crore with a deficit of Rs 1,856.32 crore lying in the capital account.
In conclusion, the state’s total receipts stand at Rs 33,972 crore while the total expenditure lies at Rs 34,212 crore leaving a deficit of Rs 240 crore.
In the last fiscal year, the state assembly passed a budget worth Rs 32,423 crore which was later adjusted through revised estimates and the final figures stood at Rs 32,995.35. If compared with the revised estimates of the previous fiscal year, the size of the budget has increased only by a little over 3.5 percent.
In a press conference after the budget speech, the Finance Minister claimed that the state government had been laying major emphasis on the capital expenditure but the figures say otherwise.
A sum of Rs 8,945 crore had been earmarked for capital infrastructure over across the sectors which is definitely higher than that of the capital expenditure allocation of Rs 7,903.26 crore in the 2025-2026 budget estimates but the the revised estimates for the last financial year showed that after the revised estimates the capital expenditure stood at Rs 10,468.68 crore. If the revised estimates are taken into account, the proposed allocation for the capital expenditure has declined by 17 percent.
Still the capital expenditure assumes 24.56 percent of the state’s total budgetary outlay which is the second highest after salaries and wages. A total of Rs 8,401.59 crore had been allocated for capital expenditure excluding the funds earmarked under the same head for repayment of loans. The highest share of the state budget will be spent for paying salary and wages to the employees. A total of Rs 8,912.29 crore had been earmarked for this purpose which is 26.05 percent of the total allocation.
For disbursing pension and retirement benefits, the state government will spend Rs 4,115 crore–12.03 percent of the total budget. Payment of interest and repayment of loans constitute around 6 percent of the total budget with a budgetary outlay of Rs 1,495.61 crore and Rs 544.33 crore respectively. Rs 10,743 crore will be spent for the remaining items apart from the major expenditures. The budget document suggests that a little over 44 percent of the state’s budget will be spent on activities like salaries, wages, pension, retirement benefits, payment of interests and repayment of loans. The remaining portion of the budget lies with the state government for investment under different sectors.
In sector wise allocation, the highest allocation has been made for Education with an outlay of Rs 6,439.56 crore–around 19 percent of the state’s total budget. For pension and debt servicing, the government allocated Rs 6,154 crore which is 17.99 percent of the total budget. As much as 11.97 percent has been earmarked for Rural Development which if converted to figures stands at Rs 4,094.57 crore. For Health and Tribal Welfare Rs 2,442.50 crore and Rs 1,567.36 crore had been earmarked respectively. For agriculture Rs 1,985.61 crore has been allocated.
The budget document also outlined how the funds will be arranged for the state. The highest source of income for the state remains the state’s share of central taxes and duties which accounts for 34.88 percent of the funds. The government projected Rs 11,850 crore under this head which is a hike of around Rs 698 crore. The centrally sponsored scheme constitutes the second highest source of income for the state government with an expected fund flow of Rs 8,077 crore. The government projected a Rs 1,065 crore increase under this head.
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However, last year the government failed to achieve its expectations as the revised estimates showed allocation of Rs 5,317.49 crore against the estimated Rs 7,012.15 crore. The other major sources of funds include state’s own tax revenue which is estimated at Rs 4,020 crore, Special Assistance for Capital Investment estimated at Rs 3,408 crore, Market Loans and Borrowings estimated at Rs 3,397.60 crore and other central assistance 2,139.19 crore.
In the budget speech, The Finance Minister said that Rs 914.82 crore would be provided to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC). “Apart from that, funds would be allocated under RIDF and SASCI for infrastructure development. The total provision under the TSP (Tribal Sub Plan) has been kept at Rs 7,542.06 crore which is 39.39 percent of the state’s total budget,” the Minister informed the house.
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