Odisha Budget focuses on farmers, women empowerment

Bhubaneswar: The BJP government in Odisha presented its maiden budget on Thursday with a total estimate of Rs 2.65 lakh crore for the 2024-25 fiscal, laying emphasis on agriculture and women empowerment.

The size of the budget for the current financial year was around 15 per cent more than the budgetary estimate of Rs 2.30 lakh crore for the 2023-24 fiscal, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said in the Assembly. Majhi, who also holds the Finance portfolio, proposed an outlay of Rs 33,919 crore for agriculture.

To ensure the speedy empowerment of women, Majhi allocated Rs 10,000 crore for the 'Subhadra' scheme, a financial assistance programme for women.

Reacting to the budget, BJD president Naveen Patnaik criticised the BJP government at the Centre and in Odisha, contending that his State faced a “double disappointment” in both the Union Budget and the Odisha Budget.