The Maharashtra government has approved an additional Rs. 105.02 bn for the Pune Ring Road after the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) failed to take up a key stretch on a priority basis. The package will be transferred to the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), taking the project’s total estimated cost to Rs. 532.13 bn. The Cabinet sub-committee on infrastructure approved the revised administrative sanction on August 18, 2026. The allocation covers civil works and land acquisition for the package previously assigned to the NHAI. The government said MSRDC was already incurring land acquisition expenses and that completing the stretch was necessary for the ring road to meet its intended objective. The project cost had risen to Rs. 427.11 bn in 2024 after the state approved an escalation of Rs. 203.75 bn. The eastern stretch was initially estimated at Rs. 101.6 bn in September 2021, but its revised length increased from 68.19 km to 72.335 km and its estimated cost rose to Rs. 199.33 bn in 2024. The western stretch’s cost increased from Rs. 121.76 bn to Rs. 227.78 bn over the same period. The ring road comprises eastern and western sections designed to reduce congestion around Pune. The eastern section links Urse on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway with Solu and Sortapwadi, while the western section runs from Urse to Varve Budruk on the Pune-Satara road. A 31.805-km section is also shared by the proposed Pune-Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Greenfield Expressway and the eastern ring road. The additional spending comes as Maharashtra faces competing financial commitments. Outstanding public debt is projected to reach Rs. 1.1 tn in 2026-27, while the revenue deficit is estimated at Rs. 405.52 bn. The state has also budgeted for welfare and agricultural support, including the Rs. 1,500 monthly Ladki Bahin payment, a farm loan waiver and Rs. 5,000 assistance per farmer in 304 tehsils. Its fiscal deficit is estimated at Rs. 1.5 tn, or 2.8 per cent of Gross State Domestic Product, with the revenue deficit at 0.7 per cent.