Odisha’s government, led by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, tabled a ₹17,440-crore supplementary budget for FY 2025–26 on November 28, 2025, adding fiscal muscle to the earlier ₹2.90-lakh-crore main budget. Designed as a mid-year correction rather than a populist expansion, the allocation reinforces ongoing programmes in agriculture, health, education, welfare, and infrastructure.
The budget maintains strict fiscal discipline under FRBM norms—holding the fiscal deficit around 3% of GSDP, ensuring a revenue surplus, and keeping debt levels below 25% of GSDP. Importantly, the package is financed largely through planned reallocation, tied central resources, and departmental savings, preventing any surge in borrowing even as capital outlay rises to over 6% of GSDP.
Budget Priorities: Welfare, Growth, and Post-Monsoon Stabilisation
The supplementary spending mirrors the BJP government’s Viksit Odisha vision at a time when the state is recovering from post-monsoon disruptions. Key allocations include:
· Agriculture & Farmers:
₹3,000 crore for paddy procurement, ₹1,325 crore for PDS subsidies, and ₹850 crore for MSP/input support—directly securing nearly 75 lakh farmer households.
· Women & Child Welfare:
₹295 crore for the Subhadra scheme, ₹142 crore for Mamata, and ₹405 crore for Mission Shakti to strengthen livelihood and maternal support systems.
· Infrastructure:
Renewed capex push with ₹250 crore for roads and bridges, ₹306 crore for public buildings, and targeted tourism investments including upgrades at major heritage sites.
· Human Development & Financial Health:
Investments in Anganwadi upgrades, education, and recruitment systems, alongside ₹1,406 crore for debt servicing to sustain fiscal stability.
Analytically, the Majhi government’s approach balances welfare continuity with disciplined spending. With panchayat elections approaching in 2029, the allocations reinforce the party’s rural and tribal support base while countering the opposition’s arguments over debt and drought relief delays.
How the Budget Strengthens Farm Support and Agricultural Schemes
Nearly ₹5,000 crore of the supplementary outlay is directed toward agriculture and allied sectors, forming the core of Odisha’s rural stabilisation strategy. Crucially, this spending is financed through reallocation and tied central schemes, not new borrowing—preserving fiscal prudence.
1. Procurement Stabilisation
₹3,000 crore is earmarked to clear paddy procurement dues and buffer mandi operations. With 2025’s floods disrupting harvest cycles, this ensures price stability and liquidity for farmers. Digitalised procurement via PACS and FPOs now covers 90% of payments, reducing delays and leakages.
2. Input and Productivity Support
The ₹850-crore input package focuses on rabi crops such as pulses and maize, expanded irrigation under PMKSY (₹200 crore), and distribution of climate-resilient seed varieties. The allocation integrates with KALIA’s longstanding support architecture, cushioning farmers from monsoon-induced losses.
3. Welfare-Linked Farm Resilience
Women farmers, comprising over 60% of the agricultural workforce, benefit through Subhadra and Mamata schemes valued at ₹437 crore. Disaster-response provisions of ₹171 crore support crop loss compensation in vulnerable districts.
Collectively, the measures align with Odisha’s strategy to double farmer incomes through MSP revisions, improved irrigation penetration, and scaling of FPO networks beyond 1,000 groups.
A Pragmatic Budget with Political and Economic Purpose
Odisha’s supplementary budget reinforces the state’s commitment to responsible spending while addressing immediate rural and welfare priorities. By funnelling significant resources into agriculture without compromising fiscal parameters, the government positions itself as both disciplined and development-driven.
Execution—particularly in Left Wing Extremism–affected regions and in last-mile rural infrastructure—will determine whether this budget truly becomes a catalyst for Odisha’s aspiration to emerge as an eastern growth engine by 2030.
(With agency inputs)
