Fadnavis to present budget, take a final call on finance portfolio after budget session

According to sources in Mahayuti, “Once the budget session is over, a final decision on the finance portfolio will be taken by Fadnavis in consultation with the alliance partner NCP.”

The pre-budget exercise which is mandatory for making the budget had been initiated by the late Ajit Pawar. He had proposed definitive directions after consulting the CM.

On Saturday, Sunetra Pawar took the oath of office as deputy chief minister. She has been allocated excise and sports portfolios. It was NCP leaders who were of the view that it would be difficult for ministers without economic expertise to tailor the budget. Whereas, Fadnavis is well-versed with each and every aspect related to state finances.

The chief minister told the media that Ajit Pawar had already started the budget making process. And we will ensure his plans, directions and aspirations would be taken forward, he had said.

In the last budget 2025-26, a seven-point development agenda was proposed to realise the ambitious goal of a one-trillion dollar economy.

With rising expenditure and shrinking revenue, Fadnavis is likely to have a tight rope walk on budget making. The biggest challenge before him is to curtail populist schemes to ensure higher capital allocations for development projects.

With no elections for next 3.5 years, the state government is expected to take drastic steps to curtail excess expenditure by imposing departmental cuts in phases to improve the fiscal discipline.