₹26,194 crore earmarked for Ways and Means and overdraft; total budget size rises to ₹98,975 crore
Shimla
Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday presented a supplementary budget of ₹40,461 crore in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly on the second day of the budget session. He also tabled the Himachal Pradesh Appropriation Bill 2026, which was passed by voice vote.
The supplementary budget has been introduced to meet additional financial requirements that were not included in the original budget. A major portion—₹26,194 crore—has been allocated for “Ways and Means” and overdraft.
Under the “Ways and Means” arrangement, the state government borrows short-term funds from the Reserve Bank of India to manage cash flow requirements.
The Chief Minister stated that the original budget for the financial year 2025–26, presented on March 17, 2025, was ₹58,514 crore. With the addition of the supplementary budget, the total size of the state budget has now increased to approximately ₹98,975 crore.
Notably, this year’s supplementary budget is about 2.5 times higher than the previous year. In the last financial year, the government had presented a supplementary budget of around ₹17,053 crore.
Experts believe that the sharp rise in the supplementary budget reflects growing financial pressures and additional expenditure needs. However, the government maintains that the funds are essential to support ongoing schemes, liabilities, and development works.
Overall, the supplementary budget aims to balance the state’s financial needs while ensuring continuity of development initiatives.
