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Saturday, March 14, 2026
TopicState budget

Topic: state budget

‘Dark chapter’ over, Chhattisgarh budget sets Naxal hotbed Bastar on path to ‘education cities’ & tourism

The Vishnu Deo Sai government's 2026-27 budget outlined a post-Naxal era vision for Chhattisgarh's tribal-majority belts of Bastar & Surguja. Finance Minister OP Choudhary presented it Tuesday.

Debit what comes in (as taxes), credit what goes out (as freebies)

The best cartoons of the day, chosen by the editors at ThePrint.

Himachal braces for ‘toughest’ yr. How state’s budget aims to deal with soaring debt, falling grants

Of Rs 58,514-crore budget, 67% is earmarked for salary, pension, interest payments & debt repayment, leaving limited funds for development.

Nara Lokesh star of AP FM’s budget speech, Oppn calls it the Naidu family ‘praise parade’

The speech reflected growing trend in TDP to position Nara Lokesh as successor to his father & CM Chandrababu Naidu. Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan got lone mention.

Populist promises in Congress & BJP manifestos for Haryana polls threaten to strain state’s budget

Monthly allowance for women, housing for the poor, subsidised gas cylinders, increased pensions, and 2 lakh govt jobs feature in both the Congress and BJP manifestos.

Madhya Pradesh projects revenue surplus for FY25. Budget focuses on women, culture, industry & infra

Revenue surplus has been estimated at Rs 1,700 cr. Water resources, women & child development, MSME, cow welfare & happiness departments see major hikes in outlay. No new taxes announced.

Shortfall in central grants to poor quality of expenditure — what budgets of Bihar, Punjab & UP show

For FY25, Bihar's assumption of revenue surplus seems optimistic, while UP's seems doable. In Punjab, main concern is that targeted reduction in fiscal deficit is to come by cutting capex.

What’s the true cost of free electricity to states? Just look at Tamil Nadu

Many states dedicate a large portion of their subsidies to free electricity, but the true financial burden doesn’t show up in budget documents.

Focus on North Chennai, flood mitigation & a 7-point ‘grand dream’ in Tamil Nadu Budget 2024-25

In his maiden budget, state finance minister Thangam Thennarasu also announced a housing scheme to make the state 'hut-free' by 2030 & project to reduce water pollution in North Chennai.

Something ties UP to TN: their inability to spend allocated budget. And parties thrive on it

Data reveals that states with a lower variance between their estimates and their actual expenditure do better in terms of governance outcomes. Spending less isn't the solution.

On Camera

What India can learn from the US-Israel war on Iran

Without any air force or navy worth the name, both Iran and Ukraine have held two superpowers at bay.

US strike on Iran’s key oil export island Kharg raises fears of wider supply disruption

President Trump said the US had bombed military targets on Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf, but spared oil infrastructure.

Supreme Leader Mojtaba, the man Iran must keep alive & the secret force ‘tasked with it’—all about NOPO

The Nirouyeh Vijeh Pasdaran Velayat, or NOPO, was the only force Ali Khamenei trusted.It was founded in 1991 and is more feared than the Revolutionary Guards.

Peaceful power transfers followed uprisings in India’s neighbourhood. It’s a sign of mature democracies

Rating democracies is a tricky business. I am only using the simple metric of who in the Indian subcontinent has had the most peaceful, stable, normal political transitions and continuity.