Funds available from day 1 in 2018-19, start projects early: Govt tells all ministries

All the fiscal 2018-19 funds for various projects will be available from the day one and they should be utilised in the early part of the financial year before the onset of monsoon session itself, the government has told all ministries and departments.

In a communication to all the ministries and departments, the Finance Ministry said that one of the major objectives of the advancement of the budget presentation and approval cycle is to make available the full authorisation to all the ministries and departments to incur the expenditures from April 1 itself for expeditious expenditure of funds on various programmes and schemes.

This has led to the desired results as much larger expenditures were incurred on various projects during the first quarter last year, the ministry said.

"Given the fact that we now have the experience of one year and all the funds would be available right from the day one of 2018-19, it is expected that ministries and departments would be able to implement the programmes and projects well in the early part of the financial year and before the onset of monsoon session," said the communication, a copy of which was accessed by the PTI.

The ministries and the departments were asked to take all the necessary actions to achieve this objectives and review the fund requirements under all programmes, schemes and projects for the first quarter and second quarter and ensure that the necessary approvals for the expenditures are obtained immediately from the Standing Finance Committee, the Expenditure Finance Committee and the Cabinet and the requisite releases are made expeditiously, it said.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had presented the Budget 2018-19 in Parliament on February 1.

Last year, while announcing the advancement of the budget presentation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said advancing the date of budget presentation would help getting funds authorised for different sectors at the start of the financial year.

Modi had said a change in the budget cycle would have an impact on the real economy.

"The date of the budget presentation is being advanced so that expenditure is authorised by the time the new financial year begins," he had said.