New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday tabled the second batch of supplementary demands for grants in Parliament, seeking approval for Rs 6,78,508.10 crore in additional spending for the government during financial year 2024-25 that ends March 31 this year.
This includes 52 grants and three appropriations. Of this, the net cash outgo – the actual additional spending requiring fresh funding – amounts to Rs 51,462.86 crore, while the rest is being offset by savings and enhanced receipts across various ministries.
The largest allocations include defence pensions (Rs 8,476 crore), communications (Rs 10,910.71 crore), finance (Rs 13,449 crore), and agricultural schemes (Rs 6,044.76 crore).
The net amount sought by the government in 2024-25 will cover the spending of Rs 7,000 crore towards the Unified Pension Scheme, which was announced during the ongoing financial year and will come into effect from April 1.
The UPS, offered as an alternative to the National Pension System, provides for a pension of 50 per cent of the last drawn pay for government employees retiring after 25 years in service.
The additional funds will also be used towards the Rs 12,000-crore Oil Industry Development Fund. The OIDC fund, announced in the Union Budget for fiscal year 2025-26 presented in February, will cover the shortfall in subsidy for liquified petroleum gas (LPG) to households and for fertilisers to farmers.
The government would also allocate Rs 2,185.63 crore for additional expenditure towards Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi – the central scheme which provides Rs 6,000 per year directly into the accounts of eligible farmers.
The Centre also seeks to allocate addition funds of Rs 10,910 crore for the Department of Telecommunications, which includes Rs 7,000 crore to the Universal Service Obligations Fund, and the remainder for other expenses including the incremental pension to be paid to voluntarily retiring employees of state-run telecom majors Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd.
Besides, the government will allocate a Rs 8,476 crore outlay for pensions to defence forces personnel, which includes an expenditure of Rs 6,097.5 for the army, Rs 820.8 crore for the navy, and Rs 1,554 crore for the air force.
(IANS)
