Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh) [India], March 13 (HBTV): Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu hailed the State Budget 2026-27, stating that it consolidates the work accomplished over the past decade while charting the course for a developed Arunachal by 2047.
The Arunachal Pradesh government on Thursday passed the state budget with an outlay of INR 36,607 crore and a fiscal deficit of INR 701 crore, which is 1.7 per cent of the state's GDP.
Speaking to ANI on Friday, CM Pema Khandu outlined the six pillars of the budget, emphasising people-centric development, sustainable economic growth and employment generation for youth.
'This time, we have prepared the budget broadly with six pillars, keeping in mind all the focus areas. The first is how we strengthen our foundation for the future. The second is people-centric development and how we bring progress in people's lives. The third focus area is sustainable economic growth. We have also focused on the fact that our government has many policies, especially for entrepreneurship and employment generation among the youth. By linking all these policies with the youth, the focus has been on how entrepreneurship and employment generation should happen,' he said.
'The fifth pillar is how to take our state's own resources forward, and lastly how to make further reforms in our governance. In the last 10 years, we in the state government have taken many reforms and have spoken about reforms in several other sectors in this budget. I believe that this year's budget marks a pivotal moment. It consolidates the work accomplished over the past decade while charting the course for our future journey toward realising a developed Arunachal by 2047,' he added.
The budget for the year stands at INR 36,607 crore, which is INR 2,835 crore less than the previous year. The state has projected revenue of INR 5,208 crore, including INR 3,634 crore in tax revenue and INR 1,575 crore from non-tax sources. According to the budget document, the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) at current prices stands at INR 41,314 crore.
Earlier on Thursday, Pema Khandu expressed gratitude to Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein and MLAs while calling for strengthening fiscal discipline.
In a post on X, he wrote, 'With the passing of the Arunachal Pradesh Budget 2026-27, I extend my sincere gratitude to all Hon'ble colleagues for their valuable suggestions and constructive participation. This year's budget has been presented in an evolving fiscal scenario following the recommendations of the 16th Finance Commission. It provides us with an opportunity to further strengthen fiscal discipline, reorient our thinking, and manage our resources with greater efficiency and responsibility. We must also expand our avenues of revenue generation, close systemic leakages, and continue improving governance mechanisms.'
'The budget has been carefully designed to meet the aspirations of our people while laying a strong foundation for sustainable growth and a more self-reliant Arunachal Pradesh. I place on record my deep appreciation for Hon'ble Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein Ji for presenting a thoughtful, balanced and forward-looking budget. I also extend my sincere thanks to Hon'ble Speaker Tesam Pongte Ji and Hon'ble Deputy Speaker Kardo Nyigyor Ji for ensuring the smooth and successful conduct of the proceedings of the House,' the post read.
(ANI)