Telangana’s Rs 3.24 lakh crore Budget for 2026-27 prioritises welfare, agriculture, housing and youth schemes while maintaining fiscal discipline. However, concerns persist over rising borrowings nearing Rs 80,000 crore and relatively modest infrastructure allocations for Hyderabad
Updated On – 20 March 2026, 10:54 PM
Hyderabad: Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Friday presented the State Budget for 2026-27 in the Assembly, proposing a total outlay of Rs 3,24,234 crore, with revenue expenditure of Rs 2,34,406 crore and capital expenditure of Rs 47,267 crore. He said the government had balanced welfare commitments with fiscal discipline in the latest Budget.
Presenting the Budget, Bhatti Vikramarka said the government had prepared it despite financial pressures, ensuring that welfare and development programmes continue without imposing additional burden on people. The Budget focused on welfare schemes, employment, housing, irrigation, social justice and infrastructure, while also announcing new initiatives for youth, education and family security.
Among key sectoral allocations, agriculture and farmer welfare received Rs 23,179 crore, while irrigation projects were allotted Rs 22,615 crore to complete pending lift irrigation and reservoir works. The government proposed Rs 33,688 crore for Panchayat Raj and Rural Development, including funds for rural roads under the HAM model.
The Budget also earmarked Rs 17,907 crore for Municipal Administration and Urban Development, Rs 12,789 crore for Transport, Roads and Buildings, Rs 11,907 crore for Home Department, Rs 875 crore for IT, and Rs 1,224 crore for Tourism. For social welfare, the Budget earmarked Rs 11,784 crore for Scheduled Castes, Rs 7,937 crore for Scheduled Tribes, Rs 12,511 crore for Backward Classes, and Rs 3,769 crore for Minorities welfare.
A major announcement was the Indiramma Family Life Insurance Scheme, under which life insurance of Rs 5 lakh will be provided to 1.15 crore families from June 2026, irrespective of income category. The government also allocated Rs 6,000 crore for the Rajiv Yuva Vikasam scheme to provide financial assistance to youth from SC, ST, BC, minority and other communities to promote self-employment. Under the Indiramma Illu housing programme, financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh per house will continue, with Rs 7,430 crore allocated for the housing department this year.
In education, the Budget announced extension of the midday meal scheme to Intermediate students, modernisation of hostel kitchens with Rs 100 crore, and infrastructure support including Rs 1,000 crore for Osmania University. Further, the government allocated Rs 720 crore for Breakfast scheme for school students which was launched by the previous BRS government, but has been suspended since the Congress came to power.
The government proposed Rs 500 crore for Godavari Pushkaralu-2027, while a whopping Rs 300 crore has been allocated for advertisements, sales publicity expenses, sponsorships and other expenditure.
Despite emphasising to have prioritised infrastructure development, the allocations were not up to the mark, especially in Hyderabad. Majority of the key allocations were through loans. While Rs 1,500 crore were allocated for Musi Riverfront development, the government proposed to provide a loan of Rs 1,450 crore to Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) for key development works. For Phase-II of Hyderabad Metro Rail, the government sanctioned Rs 600 crore fund and another Rs 500 crore loan to HMRL.
Bhatti Vikramarka stated that in the financial year 2025–26, Telangana’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), at current prices, was pegged at Rs 17,82,198 crore recording a growth rate of 10.7 per cent ov er previous fiscal. During the same period, the country’s GDP growth rate was at 8 per cent. Further, the State’s GSDP accounted for five per cent of the national GDP, making Telangana a strong growth engine for the country.
During the last fiscal, the State’s per capita income (at current prices) stood at Rs 4,18,931, with a growth rate of 10.2 per cent. The national per capita income stood at Rs 2,19,575, while the growth rate was only 6.9 per cent. Compared to the national per capita income, Telangana’s per capita income is higher by Rs 1,99,356 which is 1.9 times higher.
However, as anticipated, the Congress government proposed massive loans of nearly Rs 80,000 crore including Rs 73,383 crore through open market borrowings, Rs 5,500 crore from the Centre and another Rs 1,000 crore from other loans. Though the State government proposed Rs 64,000 crore loans through market borrowings apart from Rs 4,000 crore from the Central government and Rs 1,000 crore from other loans, it ended up obtaining more than Rs 83,000 crore.
