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In the Union Budget 2023-24 tabled Wednesday, Rs 1,258.68 crore was allotted to the Union Cabinet, under various heads of expenditure, including salaries, sumptuary (food etc), travel by ministers and entertainment of foreign State guests.
The amount includes the expenditure for the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the National Security Council Secretariat, the office of the Principal Scientific Advisor and Secretariat assistance to former governors. It also includes a provision for special extra-session flight operations for VVIPs.
The bulk of the allocation — Rs 832.81 crore — has been earmarked for the Council of Ministers, while Rs 62.65 crore has been allocated for the PMO for administrative expenses.
In 2022-23, the Budget allotted Rs 1,711.04 crore in the category. Last time too, the bulk of the allocation – Rs 1,045.59 crore – went to the Council of Ministers, while Rs 58.15 crore was given to the PMO.
The highest allocation in the past five years was in 2021-22, when Rs 2,098.04 crore was set aside for the Union Cabinet, with the PMO getting Rs 58.05 crore. A chunk of this – Rs 1,160.94 crore – went to the Council of Ministers. The office of the Principal Scientific Advisor got a significant amount of Rs 580.72 crore in the year when the government battled the Covid crisis.
A year before, in the 2020-21 Budget, Rs 1,140.38 crore was allocated to the Cabinet, while Rs 55.05 crore was provided for the PMO.
A total of Rs 828.85 crore was given to the Cabinet in the 2019-20, with Rs 53.28 crore for the PMO.
In the 2018-’19 FY, which saw the last Lok Sabha elections, Rs 770 crore was allotted to the Union Cabinet and Rs 50.35 crore to the PMO’s office.
