Fiscal Prudence Top Priority, Says Sitharaman As Lok Sabha Passes Demand For Grants
Management of idle funds helped the country stay on the path of good macroeconomic fundamentals, she says.
The Lok Sabha passed the supplementary demands for grants on Tuesday, following an address by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
In its first batch of supplementary demand for grants tabled at the lower house of Parliament last week, the Union government sought additional funds for 79 grants and four appropriations, with a net outgo of Rs 58,378 crore from a gross additional spend of Rs 1.29 lakh crore.
Out of the net outgo, Rs 53,858 crore shall go under the revenue section and Rs 4,520 crore under the capital section, Sitharaman said. "Fiscal prudence has been kept top of the priority while, at the same time, not denying any welfare funds."
The management of idle funds helped the country stay on the path of good macroeconomic fundamentals and maintain a fast pace of growth at 7.6% in the second quarter, which is the highest in the world, according to Sitharaman.
She highlighted the top government spends, including Rs 16,300 crore for nutrient-based fertilisers, Rs 11,850 crore for the capitalisation of BSNL, and Rs 1,434 crore on the optical fibre-based network.
It also includes Rs 5.500 crore on PMGKAY, Rs 8,500 crore on the Ujjwala scheme, allocation for MGNREGA, transfers to Jammu & Kashmir and PM Vishwakarma.
On questions about the export-policy uncertainty regarding onions, she said: "If there are crop shortages and there are difficulties in getting something as essential as onions to the market, then we will have to ensure that Indian consumers get that priority."
The minister underscored that the government prioritised balancing the interests of farmers and consumers.
"Most often, when we do this, we have a situation where, when prices go up, you need to have supply-side constraints removed and bring all goods to the market, even if that means you have to purchase it ad-hoc from some large-growing areas to the market for consumers sake," she said.
Sitharaman said the government was conscious of ensuring that its procurement prices are in accordance with fair market prices, where there is no minimum support price for the crop.
