New Delhi, Dec 3 (Representative) Presenting second batch of supplementary demands for grants for 2021-22 in Lok Sabha, the government on Friday sought extra spending of Rs 3.73 lakh crores which includes Rs 62,057 crores capital infusion into the company created to park assets of disinvestment-bound Air India. The other major outgo would be on account of Rs 58,430 crore fertiliser subsidy and Rs 53,123 crores towards clearing export incentives under various schemes. “Approval of the Parliament is sought to authorise gross additional expenditure of Rs 3,73,761 crore. Of this, the proposals involving net cash outgo aggregate to Rs 2,99,243.04 crore and gross additional expenditure, matched by savings of the Ministries/Departments or by enhanced receipts/recoveries aggregates to Rs 74,517.01 crore,” said the introductory note to supplementary demands for grants.
“Besides, token provision of Rs 95 lakh is being sought, one lakh for each item of expenditure, for enabling re-appropriation of savings in cases involving New Service or New Instrument of Service,” it added. As per the supplementary demands for grants tabled in Lok Sabha, a total of Rs 22,039 crore is proposed for Rural Development Ministry for meeting expenditure towards transfer of funds to National Rural Employment Guarantee Fund. “Around three-quarters of the enhanced net cash outgo in the second supplementary demand for grants has been led by four big ticket items, namely fertiliser subsidies, pending export promotion incentives, expenditure towards food storage and warehousing, and equity infusion into Air India Assets Holding Limited (AIAHL),” said Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist at research and rating firm ICRA.
She said that by end-October 2021, 52% of the full year expenditure target had been completed, and a portion of the higher than expected net cash outgo of Rs 3 lakh crore in the second supplementary demand for grants will need to be absorbed through savings in other demands, to curtail the impact on the fiscal deficit. “Nonetheless, there is near certainty that the fiscal deficit will exceed the budgeted Rs 15.1 trillion (15.1 lakh crore), despite our assessment that net tax revenues and RBI surplus transfer will together surpass the BE (Budget Estimate) by Rs 1.7 trillion (1.7 lakh crore),” she said.