Supplementary demands for grants tabled in LS

The government on Monday tabled in the Lok Sabha supplementary demands for grants to the tune of Rs 66,113 crore in the current financial year, a good portion of which will go to provide electricity connections to poor and payment of urea subsidies.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley moved the second batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants which provides for a gross expenditure of Rs 66,113 crore, which will involve a net cash outgo of Rs 33,380 crore. Rs 32,372 crore will be matched by savings of various ministries or departments, the Demands for Grants document said.

A whopping Rs 20,530 crore has been provided for urea subsidy, Rs 15,908 crore for National Highways and Rs 4,800 crore will be spent on the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. Around Rs 960 crore has been provided for user charges to Goods and Services Tax Network. Rs 3,594.57 crore has been provided to Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and Rs 1,581 crore for meeting additional expenditure for Pay and Allowances of Air Force.

It also provides Rs 3,480.44 crore for providing additional subsidy of interest liability in respect of loan granted to Food Corporation of India from National Small Savings Fund and food subsidy to FCI, the document said.

The government sought Rs 212 crore for regional rural banks that will help provide credit for development of agriculture, trade, commerce, and industry.

--IANS

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