Indian Lok Sabha Approves Rs 58,378 Crore Additional Spending for Fiscal 2023-24

The Lok Sabha approved a net additional spending of Rs 58,378 crore for the current fiscal year ending March 2024. The government sought a gross additional spending of over Rs 1.29 lakh crore, with Rs 70,968 crore to be offset by savings and receipts.

Significant allocations include Rs 9,200 crore for the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Rs 14,524 crore for the Ministry of Rural Development, primarily for MGNREGA. The total additional expenditure encompasses Rs 13,351 crore for fertiliser subsidy and around Rs 7,000 crore for the Department of Food and Public Distribution.

Moreover, the Ministry of External Affairs received Rs 20,000 crore in supplementary demands, set to be balanced against a reduction in expenditure exceeding Rs 9,000 crore. For the entire 2023-24 fiscal year, the government has budgeted a fiscal deficit of Rs 17.86 lakh crore, equivalent to 5.9 percent of the GDP. As of April-October, the fiscal deficit reached 45.6 percent of the full-year Budget Estimate from the previous fiscal.