LUCKNOW, Feb. 12 -- Armed with a nine-year report card, the Yogi government made a pitch for the 2027 state assembly polls as it steered clear of populism, in spite of expectations, to stick to its Viksit Uttar Pradesh-2047 vision with an over Rs 9-lakh crore budget focusing on basic education, energy, skill development, infrastructure development, panchayati raj and healthcare as it made a commitment to "prudent financial management." Advancing its development-driven narrative, the budget themed "Nine Years of New Construction," projected the financial blueprint as a testament to nine years of governance marked by transformation and progress as it emphasised on long-term goals. With its 10th budget, the last full one before the 2027 polls, the Yogi government asserted that Uttar Pradesh has shed its long-standing "BIMARU" tag and now reflects a decisive shift in both economic strength, public perception, administrative efficiency, and public confidence. Uttar Pradesh's ranking in the SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) India Index has improved from 29th in 2018-19 to 18th in 2023-24, the speech said. Finance minister Suresh Khanna tabled the Rs 9,12,696.35 crore budget in the presence of chief minister Yogi Adityanath. The budgeted spending for 2026-27 is nearly 12.9% more than the Budget Estimates (BE) numbers for spending in 2025-26. To be sure, the 2025-26 Revised Estimate (RE) numbers show that the government spent only Rs 7.16 lakh crore compared to its BE target of Rs 8.08 lakh crore. Despite being the last full Budget before the 2027 elections, it prioritises fiscal consolidation. State's debt-GSDP ratio has been brought from post-pandemic high of 33.4% in 2021-22 to 27% in 2024-25 and it will come down to 23.1% in the fiscal year 2026-27, the Budget speech said, adding that the government was committed to bringing it below 20%. The projected fiscal deficit for 2026-27 is 2.98% of the state's GSDP, the speech said. UP's share in Central taxes is Rs 2.68 lakh crore, grants in aid from Centre Rs 98,772 crore, State's Own Tax Revenue has been kept at Rs 3.34 lakh crore, while State's Non-Tax Revenue Rs 26,754 crore, Khanna said in the House while reading the 33-page budget speech. While Uttar Pradesh's total revenue receipts - including both state's own tax revenue and taxes from the centre - are expected to increase from Rs 4.76 lakh crore in 2025-26 RE to Rs 6.03 lakh crore in 2026-27, the 2025-26 RE number fell short of the Rs 5.5 lakh crore figure given in the 2025-26 BE. The shortfall was largely met by a reduction in revenue spending between the BE and RE numbers in 2025-26. The major expense heads for 2026-27 include Rs 1.82 lakh crore crore for salaries, Rs 1.01 lakh crore for pensions, interest payment Rs 68,921 crore and Rs 43,197 crore for subsidies. Rs 2,059 crore has been allocated for IT and electronics schemes, 76% higher than the previous year. The state will launch the Uttar Pradesh AI Mission for development in the field of artificial intelligence, for which Rs 225 crore has been proposed, the speech said while highlighting that "Uttar Pradesh accounts for 65% of the country's total mobile phone production while 55% of India's electronics components units are located in the state. The state's electronics exports have reached Rs.44,744 crore". Investment in industry and technology, along with efforts to promote innovation in the state, has resulted in Uttar Pradesh achieving a "Leader Category" ranking in the national startup rankings, Khanna said. Built on the Union Budget's Kartavya framework, the state budget outlined three core responsibilities to drive sustainable growth, generate employment, and ensure women led balanced development across Uttar Pradesh. The budget aims to translate citizens' aspirations into inclusive and balanced development, accelerating Uttar Pradesh's growth trajectory driven by infrastructure, industry and investment in future technologies. Khanna, during his speech, emphasised that capital investment and infrastructure development play a vital role in strengthening the economy and said providing employment opportunities to the state's youth and equipping them with the necessary skills is equally important. The finance minister said that capital expenditure accounts for 19.5% of the budget, which will provide new impetus to infrastructure, industrial development, roads, energy, and urban and rural infrastructure. Capital investment will create employment and strengthen economic activity. He also highlighted that the Yogi government has prioritized social sectors in the budget. This includes 12.4% of the total budget for education, 6% for health and medicine, and 9% for agriculture and related services, he said. The budget allocates Rs 32,090 crore to the panchayati raj department, clearly indicating that it is a tool of political messaging with the BJP aiming to strengthen its development narrative. Among schemes, the Jal Jeevan Mission got Rs 22,452 crore while Viksit Bharat G-RAM-G (earlier MGNREGA) got Rs 5,544 crore allocation and Rs 4580 crore for National Rural Livelihood Mission, bringing into focus the panchayat polls slated later this year. Rural development got Rs 25,500 crore, energy Rs 65,926 crore, healthcare Rs 37,956 crore and medical education Rs 14,997 crore. The budget has proposed Rs 80,997.16 crore for basic education and horticulture and Rs 2832 crore for food processing. For the National Rural Health Mission, Rs 8641 crore has been proposed. For the Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection Mission, Rs 2000 crore has been proposed. A sum of Rs 2867 has been proposed for the Ayush department. Memorandums of understanding worth approximately Rs.50 lakh crore have been signed so far, potentially creating approximately a million jobs. Four ground-breaking ceremonies have been held for over 16,000 projects involving investments worth approximately Rs.15 lakh crore, the speech said, highlighting the government's achievements. The budget proposed establishment of an agri-export hub under the World Bank-assisted UP Agri project and implementation of digital entrepreneurship plan. Capacity of skill development training centres will be increased and separate centres for women will be established to increase their participation in the workforce. Under the Swami Vivekananda Yuva Sashaktikaran Yojana, distribution of tablets and smartphones is underway, for which Rs 2,374 crore has been proposed. An allocation of Rs 2,000 crore has been made under the Atal Infrastructure Mission for infrastructure development. A budgetary provision of Rs.400 crore is proposed for the Rani Lakshmi Bai Scooty Scheme, which provides scooties to meritorious girl students. The government has also provided Rs 1,000 crore for the implementation of the Incentive Policy 2023 aimed at attracting foreign direct investment and investments from Fortune 500 companies. The revenue collection target from excise duty has been set at Rs 71,278 crore. On the Defence Industrial Corridor project, the minister said MoUs have so far been signed for setting up 200 defence industries, entailing a proposed investment of Rs 35,280 crore and generating an estimated 53,263 direct jobs. The budget specifically allocated Rs.637.84 crore for an ambitious scheme to convert diesel pump sets to solar pumps under the Agriculture Department. In view of the United Nations declaring 2026 as the International Year of Women Farmers, the government has decided to establish a Rs.150 crore fund under the Revolving Fund Scheme for Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs). The government will contribute Rs.75 crore to this fund. The budget has proposed a direct transfer benefit of Rs.16,000 to Rs.20,000 each directly into accounts of sanitation workers....