A pre-Budget meeting held on Saturday in New Delhi under the chairpersonship of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, with the Finance Ministers of all states and Union Territories, including members of legislative bodies, in attendance, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini placed several important demands related to Haryana for inclusion in the Union Budget, including budgetary allocations and key proposals concerning agriculture, rural development, medical education, industries, and allied sectors.
He said the Union Budget would further pave the way for Haryana’s progress and that the state would make its full contribution towards making India a developed nation by 2047.
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During the meeting, Saini said that the Haryana government is making sustained efforts to move the state forward on the path of development. While significant initiatives have been undertaken at the state level, he emphasized that central assistance is essential to achieve the desired outcomes.
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To expand medical education, Haryana is planning to establish a medical college in every district, for which substantial support under Centrally sponsored schemes is required.
The Chief Minister stated that Haryana being an agriculture-dominant state ranks second in the country in foodgrain production. It is widely known as the breadbasket of India. Nearly six lakh acres of land in the state are affected by salinity and waterlogging; therefore, financial assistance from the Central government is required to prevent further degradation.
He added that the need for modernisation of agriculture has long been felt. By focusing on digital agriculture, micro-irrigation, agri-logistics, and value addition, farmers can be directly connected to markets. Agri-processing clusters, along with MSMEs, can emerge as engines of rural prosperity.
The Chief Minister said that Haryana’s NCR region is being developed as a logistics hub, which will facilitate faster, seamless, and time-bound connectivity for the supply of goods to major markets across the country. He stressed that increased central capital investment is required to support this initiative.
Emphasising that economic growth cannot be accelerated without strengthening MSMEs and startups, he noted that Haryana ranks fourth in the country in terms of the number of startups. To promote the startup ecosystem, the state is establishing a ₹2,000 crore ‘Fund of Funds’.
The government is also developing 10 new Industrial Model Townships (IMTs), which will provide a significant boost to MSMEs and startups across the state and attract substantial capital investment. Additional financial assistance is required for the development of these IMTs.
He further stated that the state is providing social security pensions to more than 44 lakh beneficiaries and that financial assistance under this head should also be enhanced for Haryana.
Saini raised the demand to enhance the Rural Development Fund. He said that to meet growing infrastructure requirements and maintain the momentum of rural development, the general allocation under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) should be increased to ₹2,000 crore in the financial year 2026–27.
Similarly, under the Urban Infrastructure Development Fund (UIDF), the existing cap of ₹100 crore on the maximum project size has become a constraint in executing large projects; therefore, this limit should be increased to ₹500 crore.
He thanked the Union Finance Minister for continuing the scheme of ‘Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment’. Considering Haryana’s special needs due to its proximity to the national capital, he demanded an increase in untied allocations for the state, along with appropriate relaxations in the conditions for the utilisation of this assistance.
The Chief Minister also stressed that investment in human capital is the foremost need of the present time. Education, skills, and health, he said, are the backbone of a developed nation. For the future economy, skill development in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, green technology, and biotechnology is essential.
Saini said that despite being a geographically small state, Haryana contributes 3.7 percent to the country’s GDP. The state is also a leader in tax collection and ranks first in per capita GST collection.
Haryana’s contribution to the total national GST collection stands at 7.32 per cent, and the state ranked fifth nationally as of December 2025. In the current financial year, Haryana has recorded a 21 per cent increase in net SGST collection, which is significantly higher than the national average growth of 6 percent.
Expressing confidence, the Chief Minister said that the forthcoming Union Budget would give due consideration to Haryana’s demands, enabling the state to progress at an even faster pace.
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