MoF initiates mini-budget exercise

NEW DELHI, Dec 13: The budget division of the finance ministry has initiated mini-budget exercise of compiling the revised expenditure esti...

NEW DELHI, Dec 13: The budget division of the finance ministry has initiated mini-budget exercise of compiling the revised expenditure estimates of various ministries for the current financial year to ascertain the amount to be drawn from the contingency fund.

According to highly-placed sources in the ministry, the budget division had written to all the ministers to present the revised estimates for the current fiscal. The division, it was pointed out, was likely to complete the expenditure estimates by the end of the month to be presented before the President. The estimates, however, will also have to be ratified by the Union cabinet before being taken to the President.

Thereafter, the President will promulgate the ordinance enhancing the corpus of the Contingency fund and permitting the government to draw funds from the same for meeting essential expenditure. The corpus of the Contingency fund, which remain at the disposal of the government for meeting pocket expenses, currently is Rs 50 crore.

The government, it may be recalled, got the net supplementary grants amounting to Rs 1,990 crore approved by Parliament in August last. The amount to be drawn from the Contingency fund would be over the total expenses approved by Parliament.

Apart from other post-budgetary commitments, the significant addition to the expenditure, would be for meeting the expenses of the general elections. Sources pointed out that the finance ministry was still awaiting the expenditure estimates for the general elections from the ministry of law and justice.

Although the election commission had indicated an expenditure of about Rs 700 to Rs 800 crore for the forthcoming general elections as against Rs 400 for 1996 elections, no firm proposal has yet been forwarded by the law ministry.

The bulk of the excess expenditure, over the budget estimates and supply grants already approved by Parliament, was likely to be for honouring the revised recommendations of the fifth pay commission report. Additional outgo for meeting the salary bill for the current financial year would be Rs 4,100 crore. The government will have to part with this amount after shifting the additional outgo of Rs 3,000 crore to railway employees in the next financial year.