Govt seeks Parliament nod for additional spending this fiscal

The government today sought Parliament nod for additional cash spending of Rs 85,315.30 crore in the current fiscal, of which 70 per cent is earmarked to compensate states for revenue loss on account of GST roll out.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal moved the fourth batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2017-18 in the Lok Sabha. Approval of Parliament is sought to authorise gross additional expenditure of over Rs 9.06 lakh crore, part of which would be matched by savings by various ministries, the document said.

“Of this, the proposals involving net cash outgo aggregating to Rs 85,315.30 crore and gross additional expenditure, matched by savings of the ministries/departments or by enhanced receipts or recoveries aggregates to over Rs 8.21 lakh crore,” it said.

A bulk of the net cash outgo would be spent to compensate states on account of revenue loss suffered due to implementation of GST as well as for phasing out of Central Sales Tax (CST). A total of Rs 61,215.58 crore, which is about 71 per cent of Rs 85,315 crore, has been earmarked for the Department of Revenue. This includes Rs 58,999 crore to be paid for revenue loss to states and Rs 1,384 crore to be paid as CST compensation.

Another major spending head is Rs 15,065.65 crore towards grants in aid and creation of capital assets under various schemes. As much as Rs 9,260 crore would be spent for paying defence pensions, and Rs 5,721.90 crore for meeting expenditure towards interest payment on market loans and treasury bills.