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FM seeks Parliament nod for Rs 6.28 trillion of additional gross spending Demand includes highest ever net cash outgo of Rs 4.12 trillion in the second supplementary demands for grants
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday sought Parliament’s approval for additional cash outgo of Rs 4.12 trillion, one of the highest ever in the second supplementary demand for grants in a financial year. The cash request is part of the total gross additional spending, pegged at Rs 6.28 trillion, after accounting for Rs 2.15 trillion of savings or reallocation from ministries with under-utilised funds.However, the provision for this gross additional spending was already being made in the revised estimates of the Union Budget announced on February 1.
Of the total cash outgo, Rs 64,598 crore is towards enhanced expenditure fertiliser subsidy under AtmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan 3.0 and Rs 20,466 crore for capital outlay for defence services have been sought. Sources said that the reason for higher cash demand is on account of stimulus packages announced amid pandemic. Secondly, there were only two demands for grants in this fiscal, instead of three, due to scrapping of the winter session. To maximise the investments in roads and transport, additional expenses of Rs 5,030 crore have been sought owing to investment in National Highway Authority, Bharat Mala Pariyojna etc. Another Rs 4,970 crore was sought towards major development in the road development programs. While cash outgo of Rs 3,457 crore was also made towards Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Program…