By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, March 5, 2016 : The Annual Budget of Odisha for the next fiscal is likely to be pegged over Rs 95,000 crore.

This is what is expected now after the state council of minister on Friday evening approved a draft of the state Budget 2016-17 having an expenditure outlay amounting to about Rs 94,143 crore at the state secretariat here, sources said.

The sources informed that while the outlay for non plan expenditure has been kept at Rs 48,261.90 crore, the outlay for state plan has been kept at Rs 45,600 crore.

Similarly, the outlay for Central plan expenditure has been kept at Rs 140 crore and an outlay of Rs 141 has been kept for Centrally sponsored plan.

The expenditure outlay, despite revenue deficit, has been increased and emphasis has been laid on agriculture, irrigation, infrastructure, education and health.

The State Budget will be presented in the Odisha Assembly by finance minister Pradip Kumar Amat on March 18.

The sources said the state government was trying to allocate around 18 per cent of the total outlay in the Budget to agriculture sector. Besides, there would be substantial increase in the allocation of funds for water resources department.

Mass education department is also another area of focus in the Budget. It will see remarkable increase in its allocation, the sources informed.

For social security measures for the differently-abled persons and old-age people, emphasis has also been given. Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises is also expected to see some enhanced allocation.