Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday chaired a meeting to review preparations for the upcoming Maharashtra state budget. The budget is scheduled to be presented on March 6, while the budget session of the legislature will begin on February 23. This will be the first budget presented after the death of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who earlier held the finance portfolio and had delivered the Mahayuti government’s budget last year.
With Ajit Pawar no longer in office, Fadnavis is expected to play a central role in shaping the upcoming budget. At a time when the government has several new infrastructure projects in the pipeline and revenue collections are under pressure, managing the state’s finances and maintaining fiscal balance is likely to be a major challenge. As part of budget preparation, the CM is said to have taken stock of the preparation and gave instructions to the respective departments to meet goals.
Last year marked Ajit Pawar’s 11th budget speech, the second-highest number delivered by any finance minister in Maharashtra. The finance documents at the time had projected the state’s total debt to rise to Rs 9.32 lakh crore in 2025-26, compared to Rs 8.39 lakh crore in 2024-25.
