Assam govt tables Rs 2,85,084 cr Budget for FY'27, aims to cut deficit to Rs 419 cr

Guwahati, Jul 10 (PTI) The Assam government on Friday presented a Rs 2,85,084 cr Budget for the 2026-27 financial year and proposed to raise the tax exemption limit for small tea growers by four times and cut VAT on piped natural gas by almost 10 percentage points. Presenting his maiden Budget, Assam Finance Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah also announced to continue all the major schemes rolled out during the last five years, while stating that he aims to cut Budget deficit to Rs 419 crore. "The Budget estimates of financial year 2026-27 show a receipt of Rs 1,51,843.23 crore under the consolidated fund of the state... After adding the receipt of Rs 1,34,466.22 crore under public account and Rs 2,000 crore under contingency fund, the aggregate receipts amount to Rs 2,88,309.45 crore," he added. As against this, the total expenditure from the consolidated fund in the 2026-27 fiscal is estimated at Rs 1,56,714.88 crore, Baruah said. He further said that taking into account the expenditure of Rs 1,26,369.57 crore under public account and Rs 2,000 crore under contingency fund, the aggregate expenditure for the year is estimated at Rs 2,85,084.45 crore. "This, together with the opening deficit of Rs 3,644.26 crore will lead to a Budget deficit of Rs 419.26 crore at the end of the financial year 2026-27. The Budget for the financial year 2026-27 targets a fiscal deficit of 3 per cent of the state's projected GSDP," he added. In a bid to provide relief to small tea growers, the finance minister proposed to enhance the agricultural income tax exemption threshold from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. "To reduce household energy costs, promote cleaner fuel and support city gas supply expansion, I propose to reduce VAT on piped natural gas from 14.5 per cent to 5 per cent," Baruah said. "The per capita income has more than tripled from Rs 60,817 in the 2015-16 fiscal to Rs 1,85,429 in financial year 2025-26, indicating that Assam's growth story is becoming more broad-based and inclusive," he added. PTI TR ACD