Neog presents interim budget, says state to be 10L-cr economy by 2028

Guwahati: Finance minister Ajanta Neog, while presenting the vote on account (interim budget) in the last session of House before the polls, said the state is poised to become a Rs 10 lakh-crore economy by 2028, well ahead of the 2030 deadline.The minister said since the 2021-22 financial year, Assam has undertaken cumulative capital expenditure of over Rs 1.04 crore, while the increase in outstanding debt has been Rs 84,037 crore, indicating that “borrowings have been largely channelled towards asset creation.”“Our Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) at current prices is projected to rise from over Rs 4.1 crore in 2021–22 to over Rs 7.45 crore in 2025–26.

I am happy to announce that the Economic Survey of Assam has projected the GSDP at over Rs 8.71 crore for 2026–27. With this growth momentum, the state is poised to become a Rs 10 lakh-crore economy by 2028, well ahead of our commitment to achieve it by 2030,” she added.The minister said capital expenditure has risen over eight times, from Rs 2,951 crore in 2015-16 to Rs 26,409 crore in 2024-25, reflecting a massive growth of 795%.

“While capital spending has expanded, borrowing has been managed prudently,” she added.The minister said for decades, budgets in the state were mere wish-lists where money remained trapped in files as the budget utilisation was a stagnant 58% in 2015-16. “We have shattered that culture of delay and administrative inertia. We have moved from 58% budget utilisation in 2015-16 to a record budget utilisation of 85% in 2024-25,” she added.While the global economy faced headwinds, Neog said, Assam emerged as India’s growth engine. Stating that as per the RBI’s latest assessment, Assam has emerged as India’s fastest-growing state, Neog said at constant prices, the state’s GSDP expanded by 45% between 2019-20 and 2024-25 financial year, significantly outperforming the national average growth of 29%.The minister in her speech in the House said the most significant indicator of economic growth in the state is the Own Tax Revenue, which has grown at an average rate of 13% in the last five years.

Overall, she added, the Own Tax Revenue increased by 75% from Rs 17,134 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 30,052 crore in 2024-25.On the other hand, the Own Source Revenue of the state now accounts for 37% of total revenue receipts, up from 30% in FY 2015-16, which has reduced the state’s dependence on central transfers and ensures a stronger, self-sustaining internal economy, the minister added.Presenting the Rs 62,294.78 crore vote on account for the 2026-27 fiscal ahead of the assembly elections, Neog said major flagship schemes, including Mukhya Mantrir Nijut Moina Asoni and Mukhya Mantrir Nijut Babu Asoni, providing direct cash benefits to beneficiaries will continue in the years to come.