President gives assent to Act allowing govt to spend Rs 3.73 lakh cr extra during current fiscal

New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind has given his assent to the Appropriation (No. 5) Act, 2021 that authorizes the government to spend an additional Rs 3.73 lakh crore during the current fiscal.

The Act authorizes “payment and appropriation of certain further sums from and out of the Consolidated Fund of India for the services of the financial year 2021-22”.

This is the second batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants which the Parliament, during Winter Session concluded in December last year, had approved the Appropriation (No.5) Bill, 2021 moved in both the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

“Appropriation (No. 5) Act, 2021 received assent of President on January 12, 2022, and is hereby published for general information,” a Gazette notification issued on Friday mentions.

“From and out of the Consolidated Fund of India there may be paid and applied sums issue of three lakh seventy-three thousand seven hundred sixty-one crore rupees towards defraying the several charges which will come in course of payment during the financial year 2021-22,” it added.

The Budget 2021-22 had projected the government’s total expenditure at Rs 34.83 lakh crore. But this is expected to overshoot considering the two batches of Supplementary Demands for Grants presented by the government so far.

The extra spending includes an infusion of over Rs 62,000 crore into the company that holds residual assets and liabilities of Air India; Rs 58,430 crore by way of additional fertilizer subsidy; Rs 53,123 crore towards payment of pending export incentives; and Rs 22,039 crore to the rural development ministry for transfer to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Fund.

Besides, the Department of Food and Public Distribution would be given an additional Rs 49,805 crore for meeting expenditure towards various schemes of food storage and warehousing.

About Rs 2,400 crore would be given to the Department of Commerce for meeting expenditure towards subsidies under the ‘Interest Equalisation Scheme’, and investment under the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) scheme, among others.

Over Rs 5,000 crore and more than Rs 4,000 crore have been earmarked for additional spending by the ministries of defence and home, respectively.