Manoj Kumar Chandigarh
With the Central Government set to present the Union Budget on Saturday, Haryana has high expectations from it. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2025-26 in Parliament on Saturday. As per information, her speech will start at 11 am in the Lok Sabha.
Moreover, apart from Haryana Government, ordinary taxpayers to tech, healthcare, insurance, and finance sectors, in Sitharaman’s eighth Budget speech, expectations are high for significant announcements aimed at reviving the economy, the job market, and boosting consumer sentiments.
On the condition of anonymity, a senior BJP leader said that Nayab Singh Saini government has high hopes from the Union Budget 2025-26. Haryana is expecting an increase in the National Capital Region (NCR) budget. Any increase in the infrastructure budget for the NCR will help improve facilities there as the state government will have more funds for such developmental activities. Though the state government is planning to undertake more such projects on public private partnership mode, the state still needs additional funds to improve such facilities, he added.
Another BJP leader said that any increase in the allocation for the social sector, too, will indirectly benefit Haryana. The BJP Government in Haryana has undertaken a number of social welfare projects in sectors like health and education, for which more funds are required. We are hoping the announcements in the Central Budget would provide more opportunities of growth in the social sector in Haryana. The Goods and Service Tax (GST) is another issue that Haryana is expecting the Centre to take a sympathetic stand on.”
He further said that big projects and special grants for the execution of major projects in the National Capital Region (NCR) are on the Haryana Government’s wish list, which has already been ‘conveyed’ to the Central government and the Finance Ministry. Some of these projects include the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway, Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor, a 122-km project from Palwal to Sonepat, 1,000-acre integrated multi-modal logistics hub at Narnaul, India International Horticulture Market at Ganaur (Sonepat) and the Delhi-Panipat fast rail corridor, as part of the regional rapid transport system.
Chief Minister Nayab Saini, who also holds the finance portfolio on Friday exuded confidence that adequate allocations would be made for various Haryana projects. Talking to Reporters, He said, “We have high hopes from the Union Budget, though it is prepared keeping in mind the country as a whole.”
Talking to Reporters in Ambala Cantt, the Haryana Energy, Transport, and Labour Minister Anil Vij said that every budget presented by the Central Government prioritizes all-round and holistic development. He said that the government is committed to uplifting every section of society and region, with special focus on the development of backward areas.
Sources said the Chief Minister had already conveyed the state’s wish list to the Union Government. In fact, at the pre-Budget consultations of the state finance ministers at Jaisalmer last month, Saini brought to the notice of Sitharaman and her team from the Finance Ministry various projects for which the state needed resources to realise the dream of Viksit Bharat by 2047.
Being closer to Delhi, Haryana is invariably a major beneficiary of any national level project announced in the Union Budget. In fact, various projects announced by the Finance Minister for several sectors, including rural development and agriculture, have benefited the state directly or indirectly, a senior officer said. However, this time, the state government was expecting a big-ticket project in the Union Budget, which would be a perfect reward for people of Haryana, who had voted for the saffron party for the record third term in office, a senior BJP functionary stated.
Moreover, Sumitra Malhotra, Student of MA, PU (Economic) said that stakeholders from the healthcare sector, specifying their expectations from the upcoming Union budget, sought higher budget allocation for the sector; reduction in Goods and Services Tax (GST) and import duties on critical medical equipment and supplies; lower treatment costs for patients; and easy accessibility to various schemes introduced by the government.
She further said that increasing healthcare spending to 2.5 percent of the GDP is essential in order to strengthen infrastructure and expand access, particularly in underserved areas, even as they called for enhanced access to health services through improved Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs).
Armaan Kapoor, another PU student (Commerce) said, “With inflation showing no signs of abating within the Reserve Bank of India’s target range in the near future, I believe the finance minister will implement necessary policy measures to curb price increases. This could involve reducing taxes on consumer goods such as packaged food and edible oils. This would boost household disposable income and positively impact private consumption. Furthermore, I believe the Budget should include measures to encourage savings through tax rationalisation and stimulate loan growth. A separate announcement on developing future-proof digital infrastructure for the financial sector in the era of artificial intelligence is also anticipated.”
