New Delhi [India], March 6 : Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday emphasised that this year's state budget will have a special focus on women cowherds, poultry farmers, and goat farmers, underlining that this is the International Year of Women Farmers.
"This year has been declared the International Year of Women Farmers. On this occasion, we will be implementing special incentive programs for women cowherds, poultry farmers and goat farmers. For development. Energy self-reliance will be achieved by providing additional subsidy for installing root-of-solar on houses being constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, urban and rural," he said.
Earlier, while presenting the state budget for 2026-27, Fadnavis also proposed an incentive of Rs 50,000 for farmers who have been regularly repaying their loans.
He also announced a farm loan waiver scheme under which eligible farmers with overdue crop loans will receive relief of up to Rs 2 lakh.
The state budget on Friday announced a range of initiatives focused on agriculture, infrastructure development, industry, social welfare and green energy as part of the government's vision for a "progressive, sustainable and inclusive" Maharashtra.
The state government said it will promote natural farming across five lakh hectares and strengthen agricultural value chains for 10 to 15 crops to improve access to global markets. It also plans to use artificial intelligence and digital platforms to support farming activities and establish AI innovation and incubation centres at four agricultural universities.
A number of initiatives were also announced for women's empowerment. The government said it will allocate significant funds for the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme and expand programmes aimed at creating more "Lakhpati Didis", with a target of creating 25 lakh additional women entrepreneurs in 2026-27.
According to the budget estimates, the total outlay for 2026-27 is pegged at Rs 7.69 lakh crore, with revenue receipts estimated at Rs 6.16 lakh crore and revenue expenditure at Rs 6.56 lakh crore.
The government said the budget aims to accelerate Maharashtra's journey towards becoming a one trillion-dollar economy in the coming years.