LS approves Rs 11.7k cr additional spending

NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha on Tuesday approved the first batch of supplementary demands for grants envisaging a gross additional outgo of Rs 11,697.9 crore for the current fiscal.


The Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2018-19 and demands for excess grants for 2015-16, along with the appropriation bills, were passed by a voice vote, as opposition members, including those of the Congress and CPI(M), staged a walkout saying the government had not replied to their concerns over a scam in the Rafale fighter jet deal.

Responding to the fivehour debate, officiating

finance

minister Piyush Goyal said “this government follows the kind of budget making where there is least deviation between the planned and actual estimates”.

Citing an example, he said the first supplementary demands for grants showed that “this is the lowest ever in the last 15 years. It is just 0.2% of the total budget compared to 14% in 2008-09.”

The government has brought down the fiscal deficit “that we got as a legacy” from 4.4% to 3.3%, he said, adding “this is an honest government which spends every penny honestly.”