The Mahayuti govt faces its first budget after the assembly polls after coming to power. It will have to walk the tightrope between controlling its massive debt and fiscal deficit while continuing its welfare schemes. The state’s debt projection for 2024-25 was already Rs 7.8 lakh crore. It’s already apparent that chances of hiking the Ladki Bahin stipend from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,100 per month as promised will be unlikely in this budget. But chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced a rise in the state’s outlay under the Namo Shetkari Samman Nidhi for farmers from Rs 6,000 to Rs 9,000 per year, it’s possible that the budget will account for this. The govt could focus on keeping welfare schemes going while scrutinising and trimming beneficiaries as it has done with its flagship Mukhya Mantri Majhi LadkiBahin Yojana. It had introduced welfare schemes worth a steep Rs 96,000 crore before the polls, which helped power its electoral victory. Since then, the state has introduced supplementary budgetary demands for additional expenses outside the budget worth Rs 1.37 lakh crore, the highest ever in Maharashtra.