Govt seeks house nod for Rs 34,724 cr extra spend

Showing its seriousness about the food security Bill, the government on Tuesday sought Parliament’s nod for an additional expenditure of Rs 2,300 crore to carry out a survey on below poverty line families in rural areas.

The amount will form a part of the overall supplementary demand for grants tabled in Parliament by the government that entails an additional net outgo of Rs 9,016 crore. The government, however, gave an assurance that it would not disturb its target of reining in fiscal deficit at 4.6 per cent of gross domestic product for this financial year.

The additional expenses sought through the first batch of supplementary demand for grants for 2011-12 did not provide any additional petroleum subsidy, leaving oil marketing companies with no comfort for the quarter ending June.

The Budget had given Rs 20,000 crore towards petroleum subsidy for 2011-12. However, the amount has been exhausted in meeting last year’s fourth-quarter subsidy.
 

ADDITIONAL ALLOCATIONS

* The government on Tuesday sought Parliament’s nod for an additional expenditure of Rs 2,300 crore to carry out a survey on below poverty line families in rural areas

* The overall supplementary demand for grants entails an additional net outgo of Rs 9,016 crore 

* The government said of the Rs 34,724-crore expenditure, Rs 25,000 crore would be met through savings in other heads 

* The grants include Rs 10,612 crore for giving loans to the IMF; Rs 2,375 crore for MPs towards increase in their annual allocation under MPLAD scheme and Rs 410.73 crore for providing payment of ex-gratia to victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy

The government sought an additional gross expenditure of Rs 34,724 crore, but said more than Rs 25,000 crore would be met through savings in other heads.

The food security Bill is listed in the agenda of legislations to be tabled in Parliament this session. The draft of the Bill, cleared by an empowered group of ministers, has proposed a legal entitlement for subsidised grain to 75 per cent of rural households and 50 per cent of urban households. Officials estimate the country’s food Bill will rise by over Rs 34,000 crore.

The demand for grants included Rs 10,612 crore for giving loans to the International Monetary Fund; Rs 2,375 crore for Members of Parliament (MPs) towards increase in their annual allocation under the MP Local Area Development scheme from Rs 2 crore to Rs 5 crore a MP; Rs 1,000 crore for equity infusion in the apex agriculture bank, Nabard; Rs 410.73 crore for providing payment of ex-gratia to victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy; Rs 728.7 crore for Air India to operate aircraft for VVIPs and evacuation of Indian nationals from Libya and Yemen by various airlines; Rs 1,000 crore for the national clean energy fund.

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters the extra money sought would not impact the government’s fiscal deficit target. “I will keep my borrowing within limit,” Mukherjee said.