Budget to presented on February 1 (Image credit: IANS)

State leaders met with finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday for pre-budget discussions, where they reportedly asked for increased financial support for capital investments and compensation for GST revenue losses.

The states also asked for more funding for urban and rural development, housing programs, and disaster management ahead of the upcoming FY27 budget presentation on February 1, according to officials cited by ET.During the meeting, Sitharaman emphasised the importance of state participation in achieving India's goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047. She encouraged states to implement necessary reforms to support this vision.Kerala's finance minister KN Balagopal mentioned his state's concerns, claiming that the Centre has held back over Rs 17,000 crore this fiscal year. He requested an increase in the borrowing ceiling and addressed issues like GST-related revenue decline and railway development needs.Telangana presented infrastructure proposals, including the construction of 2.5 million houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and the establishment of an Indian Institute of Management.

The state also demanded allocation for various transport sector schemes such as a regional ring road and the expansion of the Hyderabad Metro Rail.Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh pushed on regional development, asking for assistance for the Rayalaseema Horticulture Development Package as well as the Polavaram-Nallamala Sagar Link project.State leaders, including governors, chief ministers, deputy chief ministers, and finance ministers, attended the meeting among others. The union minster of state for finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, and members of the ministry also attended the meeting among others.Before this, Sitharaman has held meetings with different stakeholders such as economists, industrialists, farmers, and students of the Delhi School of Economics to get diverse inputs for the budget.