Parliament adjourned sine die after Budget Session
Parliament adjourned sine die on Friday after conclusion of the Budget Session which saw presentation of the first full Budget of the Narendra Modi Government’s third consecutive term in office.
For the second and final batch of supplementary demands for grants from various ministries and departments, the Finance ministry has begun the process of collecting expenditure proposals ahead of the Budget Session.
The Budget Session is likely to begin in the last week of January.
This will be the last session of the 17th Lok Sabha before the General Elections expected to be held around April-May.
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As per the reports, during the Budget Session, the Centre will seek expenditure approvals from Parliament for the four-month period until July 2024 through a Vote-On-Account.
The second batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for the fiscal year 2023-24 is intended to be presented before Parliament in the Budget Session, the Finance ministry indicated in an office memorandum.
All the cases that are eligible for inclusion under such demands would include those where advances from the contingency fund have been sanctioned. Payments against court decrees would be incorporated, along with cases explicitly advised by the Finance ministry to move supplementary demands in the Winter Session.
According to the memorandum, ministries are instructed to submit their supplementary proposals by January 8. The interim budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 will be tabled on February 1.
It emphasised that when processing proposals for Supplementary Grants, the grant controlling authority must consistently pinpoint savings within the grant. This approach aims to eliminate unnecessary or inflated supplementary demands, averting the need for surrender after obtaining the supplementary grant.
From the upcoming Annual Budget, expectation from the Economists and industry experts is that the government will divert some of its expenses towards improving the port and shipping; energy, especially green and sustainable energy; and urban infrastructure. In this budget, the government’s focus should be on the transition from carbon-dependent to energy-efficient policies.
The government has remained focused on building a strong infrastructure over the past five years.
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