Govt seeks nod for extra spending of over ₹78,600 cr

Most of the additional funds being sought are for schemes under the agriculture ministry

- Gireesh Chandra Prasad

• ₹2 tn total amount of additional spends sought by govt
• 5.8% of GDP: fiscal deficit aim

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday sought Parliament approval for spending a net additional amount of ₹78,672 crore in the current financial year to meet the funding requirements for income support to farmers, crop insurance, fertilizer subsidy and rural jobs.

The total amount of additional spending for which the government sought the approval is ₹2 trillion, but the net cash outgo is limited to ₹78,672 crore, showed the supplementary demands for grants document tabled in the Lok Sabha. The rest is matched by additional receipts, recoveries, or savings by various ministries.

This spending adjustment has already been taken into account in the revised estimates for FY24 and is part of the interim budget for FY25 that Sitharaman presented on 1 February, a government official explained.