In a high-level secretary meeting chaired by Odisha’s Chief Secretary, Smt. Anu Garg, the state’s financial performance and budget expenditure for the fiscal year 2025-26, were thoroughly reviewed up to the end of February 2026.
The meeting, held at the conference room in Kharavela Bhawan, focused on accelerating departmental spending and preparing for new initiatives outlined in the upcoming 2026-27 budget.
The discussions highlighted a positive trend in the state’s fiscal health, with overall expenditure showing a 9.3% increase compared to the same period last year. Program-related spending saw a notable 14% rise, reflecting improved utilisation of allocated funds. Key sectors demonstrated significant growth: Agriculture recorded a 13% increase in budget expenditure, Fisheries and Animal Resources surged by 39%, and Cooperatives by 56%. In infrastructure development, the Energy Department achieved a 43% growth. Social sectors, including School and Mass Education, Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes Development, Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare, Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Women and Child Development, and Mission Shakti, collectively reported a 19% uptick in spending.
Chief Secretary Garg emphasised the need for all departments to fully utilise their approved budgets by the end of the current month. She directed officials to prioritise program expenditures to meet the overall growth targets for the fiscal year 2025-26. Additionally, she instructed revenue-generating departments to align with their collection targets to ensure fiscal stability.
Looking ahead, the meeting addressed preparations for the 2026-27 budget, which includes several new schemes and programs. Garg urged departments to initiate groundwork in advance, ensuring seamless implementation once approvals are granted. Detailed discussions were held with respective secretaries on executing these initiatives effectively.
A key highlight of the session was a presentation by Sarvam AI, a leading Indian artificial intelligence firm, on potential collaborations under the State AI Mission. Championed by the Chief Minister of Odisha to enhance administrative efficiency, the mission aims to integrate AI into governance. Sarvam AI, which has partnerships with the Government of India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and has been recognised at the India AI Summit, proposed AI-driven solutions tailored for Odisha.
These include multilingual voice-based assistance for public services, real-time data analytics for decision-making, and automated drafting of government documents. The technology could also benefit farmers through advisory services, subsidy awareness campaigns, and efficient grievance redressal mechanisms. Overall, the integration is expected to make governance more transparent, swift, and citizen-centric. The presentation explored coordination across departments to deploy AI for streamlining operations and improving service delivery.
The meeting was attended by the Development Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary Deo Ranjan Kumar Singh, along with Additional Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, and Commissioner-cum-Secretaries from various departments.
