Council of Ministers to discuss draft budget today

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Council of Ministers is meeting on Friday afternoon to approve the allocation for ensuing State budget as well as the revised estimate for 2015-16 fiscal, official sources said.

There are two items in the agenda to be discussed at the meeting, to be chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at the Secretariat here.

The revised estimate for the 2015-16 fiscal will be approved in the meeting along with a discussion on the draft budget proposal, the sources added.

The budget session is scheduled to begin on March 15. For the first two months of the next fiscal, the State government will present an Appropriation bill in the State Assembly. Later, the full budget will be tabled.

The sources said the State government will be forced to take loans from the open market as the revenue collection target has not been achieved during the 2015-16 fiscal.

Besides, a cut in the Central allocation to States in the Union Budget and changes in the Centre’s share in the different schemes will also affect the State Budget.