On 12 March 2025, Natesan Krishnasamy Rangasamy (N. Rangasamy), the Chief Minister (CM) of the Union Territory (UT) of Puducherry, who also holds the Finance portfolio, presented a Rs 13,600 crore tax-free Budget for the Financial Year 2025-26 (FY26).
- Of the total budget, Rs 11,624.72 crore was allocated for Revenue Expenditure (RevEx), and Rs 1,975.28 crore was allocated for Capital Expenditure (CapEx).
- The CapEx is 9.80% of the total expenditure, representing a significant increase from 1.66% in 2021-22, nearly a ten-fold growth.
- FY 2026 Budget is his fifth successive budget in the fifteenth legislative assembly
Budget Overview:
i.Puducherry’s Revenue Receipts are estimated at Rs 7,641.40 crore.
ii.Central assistance, including the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF), is estimated at Rs 3,432.18 crore, the Central Road Fund (CRF) allocation is Rs 25 crore, and the Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSSs) allocation is Rs 400 crore.
iii.The Government of India (GoI) has approved a Net Borrowing Ceiling (NBC), including a Negotiated Loan, of Rs 2,101.42 crore to manage the Fiscal deficit (FD).
iv.The Puducherry Budget has allocated Rs 2,760 crore for Special Budgeting for FY26:
- Rs 1,458 crore for Gender Budgeting.
- Rs 613 crore for Youth Budgeting.
- Rs 689 crore for Green Budgeting.
Major Expenditure Areas:
i.Salaries: Rs 2,650 crore (19.49%); Pension: Rs 1,566 crore (11.51%); Re-payment of Loan and payment of Interest: Rs 1,867 crore (13.73%); Power Purchase: Rs 2,546 crore (18.72%).
ii.Rs 2,110 crore (15.51%) have been allocated towards major welfare schemes such as the Free Rice Scheme, Incentives/Subsidies for Farmers, Old Age Pension (OAP), etc.
iii.Grant-in-aid to the Society-run Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) is estimated at Rs 523 crore (3.85%)
iv.Rs 1,148 crore (8.44%) has been allocated for Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and cooperative institutions.
Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare:
Rs 216.87 crore for Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare in FY26. Key highlights include:
i.Registered agricultural labourers under the Agriculture Labour Welfare Society will receive Rs 2,000 per annum as Rain Relief from FY26.
ii.Under the Crop Diversification Scheme, high-yielding seeds of superior varieties will be provided at:
- 75% subsidy for general farmers.
- 90% subsidy for the farmers of Scheduled Castes (SC).
Welfare Initiatives:
i.The monthly financial assistance for Women-Headed Families (WHF) living Below the Poverty Line (BPL) has been increased from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,500.
ii.Enhancement of Rs 500 to all categories of OAPs covered by the Department of Women and Child Development (DWCD).
iii.Financial Assistance to the students studying in Government and Government Aided Schools who have lost either the mother or father:
- Rs 2,000 to the students studying from I to V.
- Rs 3,000 to the students studying from VI to X.
- Rs 4,000 to the students studying from XI to XII.
iv.The government has proposed a special financial assistance of Rs 1,000 every month for a period of three years to students who have studied from classes 6 to 12 in government schools and are pursuing higher education Rs 9.34 crore has been allocated for the scheme
SC/ST Welfare Initiatives: Rs 526.81 crore have been allocated under the Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan (SCSP). Key initiatives include:
i.Rs 500 per month has been enhanced to SC/ Scheduled Tribes (ST) beneficiaries under the SCSP fund towards the Scheme of ‘Old Age Pension to the Widows / Destitutes / Adolescent Girls’/ Old Age People’ run by the DWCD.
ii.Rs 3,000 monthly assistance to unmarried or widowed SC/ST women, who are unemployed and attained 30 years or above.
iii.Rs 5,000 monthly financial assistance to the SC/ST orphaned children until 18 years old for their education and other essential needs.
iv.Monthly stipend of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 per month for Short-term Skill Development Classes like Typewriting/Shorthand and Computer Classes, respectively to the SC/ST students.
Major Announcements:
i.2 Kilograms (Kg) of wheat per month to be distributed to all ration card holders (in addition to existing free rice). Rs 300 crore has been allocated for the free rice scheme.
ii.The skills of 30,000 youth of Puducherry are to be upgraded through the CM’s Skill Development Programme (CMSDP).
iii.The annual Member of Legislative Assembly – Local Area Development (MLA – LAD) Scheme has been enhanced to Rs 3 crore from Rs 2 crore.
iv.A “Multiproduct Tourism Zone” is to be established on 100 acres of Land available at the beachfront of Manapet Village, to develop theme parks, resorts, etc., under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode.
v.Under the Mid-day Meals Scheme, the Government has proposed to extend the provision of Egg to school children “on all school working days”.
- Presently, Egg is provided only 3 days a week.
iv.The government will provide a subsidy for purchasing electric vehicles (e-vehicles) and also provide a 50% concession on Road Tax while registering such vehicles.
v.Rs 20 crore has been allocated towards the land acquisition (first stage) for the expansion of the runway of Puducherry Airport.
vi.The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has allotted a plot for Rs 25 crore at Dwarka in New Delhi (Delhi) for the construction of a New Puducherry Guest House.
vii.Rs 10 crore has been allocated to construct a new bus stand at the East Coast Road (ECR) in Oulgaret Municipality.
- It will be named after former Prime Minister (PM) Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1924-2018), marking the Centenary year of his birth.
About the Union Territory (UT) of Puducherry:
Chief Minister (CM)- N. Rangaswamy
Lieutenant (Lt) Governor– K. Kailashnathan
Stadium– Indira Gandhi Sports Complex (outdoor)
