Telangana govt. scrambling to fund flagship schemes this fiscal

This being an election year, the government is unlikely to opt for raising taxes and duties as any such move could have a bearing on the prospects of the ruling party.

The State government continues to be in a tight situation in terms of raising finances for its flagship schemes in the new financial year 2023-24.

The government has to start disbursal of cash to the tune of ₹8,000 crore into the accounts of over 60 lakh farmers as first instalment of the Rythu Bandhu scheme from June even as payments under Dalit Bandhu, the ambitious scheme aimed at financial empowerment of Dalit families with a one-time grant of ₹10 lakh each, has been continuing. The government had budgeted ₹16,000 crore for Rythu Bandhu and ₹17,700 crore for Dalit Bandhu for the current fiscal.

On the expenditure front, the outgo on account of interest payments has been projected at ₹22,407 crore —around ₹3,500 crore higher than the previous fiscal’s ₹18,911 crore. Coupled with these is the expenditure on interest payments for loans obtained for the Kaleshwaram project which were pegged at ₹4,427.14 crore during 2021-22 and the same amount, if not more, has to be repaid during the current fiscal too.

On the revenue front, the government has raised open market borrowings to the tune of ₹3,000 crore from the auction of State government securities conducted by the Reserve Bank of India to date. It is expected to raise another ₹2,000 crore during the auction to be conducted on May 16, taking the total market borrowings to ₹5,000 crore. The government had to cut down the quantum of OMBs after the Union Finance Ministry imposed restrictions on the borrowing limits of the State, citing financial reasons.

In addition to the market borrowings, another ₹7,380 crore is likely to be transferred into the government’s account in a day or two following the award of toll collection, operation, and maintenance of the Outer Ring Road to IRB Infrastructure Developers Limited. The decision to award toll collection rights resulted in a hue and cry from the Opposition parties though.

The government is struggling hard to raise resources to fulfil its commitments relating to the implementation of welfare and developmental schemes as the amounts accrued so far are unlikely to meet the requirements. This being an election year, the government is unlikely to opt for raising taxes and duties as any such move could have a bearing on the prospects of the ruling party. Given this background, all eyes are on how the government manages the financial situation to ensure that there is no interruption whatsoever in the implementation of the welfare schemes.