Decline in Telangana’s budget for 2026-27; CAG pegs total receipts at ₹3.01 lakh crore

The quantum of the Telangana State budget for the financial year 2026-27 has witnessed a decline after the first month. The State Government has passed the budget with total outlay of ₹3.24 lakh crore including capital receipts. Capital receipts, primarily open market borrowings, loans from Central Government and other loans, account for close to ₹80,000 crore. Of these, the Government proposed to raise ₹73,383 crore from open market, ₹5,500 crore as loans from the Centre and another ₹1,000 crore other loans.

However, the monthly key indicators released by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India pegged the total receipts at ₹3.01 lakh crore with capital receipts constituting ₹59,945 crore including Rs. 58,458 crore as borrowings and other liabilities. This is not a new phenomenon as the State witnessed a similar cut in the budgetary outlay during the previous fiscal too. As against the ₹3.04 lakh crore budget for 2025-26 passed by the State Legislature, the total outlay was brought down to ₹2.81 lakh crore with similar drop in the limit of borrowings.

The Union Finance Ministry, however, allowed the State to opt for borrowings of ₹77,762 crore against the ₹54,009 crore fixed at the commencement of the fiscal (2025-26). This was mainly due to swapping of high interest loans with low interest ones resulting in higher borrowing limits last fiscal.

Senior officials said the State’s financial situation continues to be stressful as could be seen from the earnings for the first month of the new fiscal. The State’s revenue receipts for April stood at ₹10,974 crore while the expenditure on account of the spree of welfare schemes was mush higher. “Revenue receipts of just around 4.5% in the first month indicates that the year has not started optimistically. Hopefully, receipts during the following months will improve after the onset of monsoon,” was how a senior official responded.