Parliament’s nod for Rs 58,378-cr addl spend

New Delhi: Parliament on Tuesday gave its approval for a net additional spending of Rs58,378 crore in the current fiscal ending March 2024, with a large chunk allocated to MGNREGA and fertiliser subsidies.

The gross additional spending would be more than Rs1.29 lakh crore, out of which Rs70,968 crore would be matched by savings and receipts. On Tuesday, Rajya Sabha returned the two appropriation bills to Lok Sabha after a brief discussion. Most of the members who participated in the discussion were from the Treasury benches as a large number of Opposition members are suspended from the House.

Opposition members who were present did not participate in the discussion. Last week, Lok Sabha passed the supplementary demands for grants after a short discussion. Replying to the discussion on Supplementary Demands for Grants in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary on Tuesday highlighted the key aspects of the first batch of demands for grants.

According to the demands for grants, the net additional spending by the government would be Rs 58,378.21 crore in the current fiscal.