The Maharashtra Legislaturewill begin its Budget session today, March 6, with Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao scheduled to address a joint sitting of both Houses. The session will continue for 23 working days and is expected to conclude on April 7. During this period, the government will present the state budget and hold discussions on financial allocations, pending bills and ordinances.
The government led by Devendra Fadnavisis expecting the session to run more smoothly this time after tensions with ally Shiv Sena over the Mumbai Mayor’s post were resolved. The Bharatiya Janata Partydecided not to contest the mayoral election in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.
With the BJP staying out of the March 8 civic polls, Shiv Senais likely to win both the Mayor and Deputy Mayor posts in the country’s richest civic body. The move has helped ease political friction between the two alliance partners ahead of the important Budget session.
Maharashtra Budget session: Key financial matters on agenda
During the session, lawmakers will discuss the Governor’s address and take up several financial matters. These include supplementary demands, the Vote on Account, and detailed debates on department-wise budget allocations.
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The session schedule will also include short breaks for festivals such as Gudi Padwa and Ram Navami.
Apart from legislative work, members will also move a motion to congratulate Sharad Pawar, president of the Nationalist Congress Party, and Ganpatrao Deshmukh of the Peasants and Workers Party of India for completing 50 years in electoral politics.
Economic survey flags investment gap
Ahead of the Budget, the Economic Survey 2025–26 highlighted a major gap between the investment proposals announced and the projects that are actually implemented. Despite this concern, the report said the state economy continues to grow strongly. It also noted that Maharashtra’s public debt is expected to rise to Rs 9.32 lakh crore in 2025–26.
The survey projected that Maharashtra’s economy will grow at 7.9 per cent in 2025–26, which is higher than the national growth estimates. It also said the state’s per capita income is expected to reach Rs 3.47 lakh. The report was presented in the state legislature on Thursday, a day before the Budget announcement.
Meanwhile, discussions are also taking place about the future of the “Ladki Bahin Yojana”. Reports suggest that the number of beneficiaries under the scheme has fallen sharply. Because of this, the state government is now reviewing the budget allocated for the scheme and may reconsider how it will continue in the coming year.
Maharashtra Budget session 2026: Education sector in focus
The Economic Surveyalso highlighted the educationsituation in the state. Maharashtra has more than 1.04 lakh primary schools with around 1.45 crore students enrolled. In addition, there are 29,641 secondary and higher secondary schools with nearly 63.6 lakh students studying in them.
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According to the report, the number of schools providing primary and upper primary education increased slightly from 1,04,499 in 2023–24 to 1,04,526 in 2024–25. However, the share of schools located in rural areas dropped marginally from 75.2 per cent to 75.1 per cent during the same period.
The number of primary schools per thousand children also fell slightly. It stood at 10.1 in 2023–24 and declined to 10 in 2024–25.
The survey said the share of girls enrolled in schools increased marginally from 47.7 per cent in 2023–24 to 47.8 per cent in 2024–25. At the same time, the pupil–teacher ratio improved from 31.1 students per teacher in 2023–24 to 30 students per teacher in 2024–25. |
