Budget, whether it is the Centre or the state, can be uninteresting and even difficult to comprehend to some but this annual financial statement, which is about estimated receipts and expenditure of the government for a particular fiscal year, is an important document that shows the financial health of a state, programmes and policies of the ruling dispensation, developmental activities and others that will affect the citizens in their everyday life. As has been the case over the last few decades, Nagaland has been presenting “deficit budget” and with “no new tax”, and this year is no exception. However, this trend needs to be changed to boost developmental works in the state.
Nagaland Chief Minister presented an INR 2212.74 crore deficit budget for fiscal year 2022-23, down by INR 466.72 crore from last year’s estimated negative balance, during the assembly session earlier this week. He said that the transactions for this financial year are estimated to result in a positive balance of INR 150.30 crore, which is an encouraging development, especially in view of the Covid-19 pandemic affecting the economy across the globe. The closing negative balance for the FY 2021-22 is also estimated to be down by INR 316.42 crore than estimated earlier over increase in the revised Union Budget and state’s own revenue receipts. Still then, the state will see a negative closing balance because of successive negative opening balances over the past. It is important to know that the current fiscal deficit is an accumulation of shortfall incurred over the years, which is affecting the state’s budgetary allocations and overshadowing the little gains made. So, for a revenue-starved state like Nagaland, every small gain matters. The state government should continue to work on addressing the fiscal deficit by taking measures to check the expenditure and boost state’s revenue.
While the state budget for the fiscal year 2021-22 has touched upon all the departments, what caught the eye was the increase in the developmental outlay by 10.71% over last year. The raise in budget allocation for state’s share to centrally-sponsored schemes will help the state avail more funds from the Centre and enhance implementation of schemes. The Chief Minister’s Micro Finance Initiative, which aims to provide affordable credit to farmers and entrepreneurs, and the Chief Minister’s Health Insurance Scheme that envisages to provide health coverage up to INR 5 lakh per annum to all citizens of the state at empanelled government and private hospitals in the country, also are worth mentioning. These are crucial steps towards assisting small entrepreneurs, both those affected by the pandemic and those planning to start enterprises, and towards providing universal healthcare to the people. Now, the government should ensure that these schemes reach deserving people, especially those from rural areas. In a nutshell, the government should concentrate on the implementation of budget, prevent leakage of public funds and maintain transparency. With the Central assistance and borrowings still constituting a chunk of the state’s receipt, efforts also should be made on improving revenue to narrow the fiscal deficit.