Bhubaneswar: The first meeting of the newly-formed Council of Ministers was held here Friday evening under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The Council of Ministers approved the Budget for the remaining eight months of the current financial year 2022-23. Sources indicated that the total Budget for the entire financial year will be Rs 2 lakh crore.
The Odisha government March 30 had approved a Budget (vote-on-account) of Rs 1.06 lakh crore for the first four months (April to July) of the financial year 2022-23. At that time, the state government had estimated the total size of the Budget at Rs 2 lakh crore.
The government had opted for a vote-on-account instead of the regular Budget in view of the model code of conduct imposed due to the panchayat and urban body elections in Odisha.
Out of the Rs 2 lakh crore, the total programme expenditure outlay was Rs 1,10,000 crore. Similarly, the outlay for disaster response funds was Rs 3,210 crore while the outlay for transfers from the state to the local bodies was Rs 7,170 crore.
Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari will present the State Budget for the financial year 2022-23 before the Assembly July 2, the first day of the Monsoon Session of the House. The Monsoon Session will continue till August 4.