SHILLONG, March 5: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma presented a deficit budget of Rs 1,970 crore for the financial year 2025-26 on Wednesday. The budget, amounting to about 2.96% of the projected Rs 66,645 crore Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), is in line with the state’s goal of achieving a USD 10 billion economy by 2028.
According to the budget document, the total receipts for the 2025-26 fiscal year are estimated at Rs 30,415 crore, including Rs 25,591 crore in revenue receipts and Rs 14,324 crore in capital receipts. Excluding borrowings of Rs 24,788 crore, the total receipts are projected to be Rs 25,627 crore. The estimated total expenditure is Rs 30,003 crore, which includes revenue expenditure of Rs 20,556 crore and capital expenditure of Rs 9,447 crore. After accounting for a loan repayment of Rs 2,406 crore, the total expenditure is expected to be Rs 27,597 crore. Interest payments are estimated at Rs 1,347 crore, and pension payments will stand at Rs 1,824 crore.
The Chief Minister emphasized that the fiscal deficit is maintained below the permissible limit of 3.5% of GSDP, at 2.96%. He also announced a Rs 6,000 scholarship for all post-matric students in Meghalaya, which will benefit over 80,000 youths starting next financial year.
The climate budget for the state has been increased by 20% to Rs 5,421 crore, while the youth budget has grown by 16.6% to Rs 3,329 crore. Additionally, the gender budget stands at Rs 6,219 crore, marking a 25% increase from the previous year.
Sangma shared that the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has approved the state’s GSDP for 2023-24 at Rs 53,057 crore, with a projected GSDP of Rs 66,645 crore for 2025-26. With an annual growth rate of 12.7% from 2023 to 2026, the state is confident of meeting its target of a USD 10 billion economy by 2028.
Furthermore, the Chief Minister noted that Meghalaya’s own tax revenue has seen a significant surge, increasing nearly threefold from Rs 1,450 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 4,041 crore this current year.
