Special Correspondent
Panaji
Stating that the recent global scenario and its subsequent effects are expected to have a significant impact on the economy of Goa, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday presented an “all inclusive” budget for 2026-27 with an outlay of Rs 30,195 crore and a revenue surplus of Rs 1,666 crore.
The budget indicates a growth of 7.21% as compared to the Rs 27,993.97 crore annual financial statement for the previous fiscal year and focuses on employment generation, sustainable development and green innovation.
With an announcement of a review of the social security schemes and with proposals for an increase in the dole amounts, the government may need to look at innovative ways to generate revenue.
The budget has, however, made provisions for generating revenue through taxes such as 200% tax on application/registration fees for all new land-based casinos. It also proposes to collect revenue through commercial taxes amounting to
Rs 6,945 crore.
Chief Secretary V Candavelou said that the effectiveness of the government in generating revenue would reflect in the amount of revenue generated.
The Chief Minister,
delivering the two-hour-and-fifteen-minute budget speech said, “The recent global scenario and its subsequent effects are expected to have a significant impact on the economy of Goa, which is highly a service sector-dependent state.” He said that the Gross State Domestic Product (advanced) of Goa for the year 2026-27 at current prices is estimated at Rs 1.31 lakh crore.
“The GSDP per capita is expected to remain one of the highest in the country at Rs 8.18 lakh,” Sawant, who also holds the Finance portfolio, said. “The total expenditure estimate for the financial year 2026-27 is Rs 30,195 crore, which indicates a growth of 7.21% over the estimates of financial year 2025-26.”
The total receipts projected for the financial year 2026-27 stand at Rs 29,181 crore, with a projected revenue surplus of Rs 1,666 crore.
The Chief Minister further said, “In the current year, Goa has received funds of around Rs 2,078 crore as on date as special assistance from the government of India for infrastructure development of the state.”
Stating that this assistance is the highest ever received in the history of the state, Sawant said that “this year, the government expects assistance to the extent of Rs 1,357 crore from the Centre for various schemes and an additional Rs 1,600 crore as special assistance from the government of India.”
Sawant said, “The Ministry of Finance has capped the fiscal deficit to GSDP ratio at 3% of GSDP for the financial year FY 2026-27.”
“Considering this, the fiscal deficit of the state for the financial year 2026-27 is projected to be
Rs 3,895 crore, which is well within the limits set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act,”
Sawant said.
