Finance ministry seeks expenditure proposals for first supplementary demands for grants

Ahead of the winter session of Parliament, the finance ministry has sought expenditure proposals for the first batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants from various ministries and departments.

The first batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2022-23 is proposed to be placed before Parliament in the ensuing session, the ministry said in an office memorandum.

The month-long winter session of Parliament usually begins in the last week of November.

The cases that would be eligible to be incorporated under such demands include those where advances from the Contingency Fund of India have been granted.
Besides, payments against court decree would be included as well cases where the finance ministry has specifically advised moving of the supplementary demand in the winter session, it said.

"While processing proposals for supplementary Grants, the Grant controlling authority must invariably identify savings within the Grant so that the infructuous or inflated Supplementary Demands are weeded out and the eventuality of surrender after obtaining Supplementary Grant is avoided," it said.

The proposal for Supplementary Demand for Grants may be projected after a thorough and objective assessment of additional requirement of funds, it added.

According to the memorandum, the proposals in complete form justifying supplementary demands to be included in the first batch should be forwarded to the Budget Division of the finance ministry by November 11, 2022.

The government can also present the second Supplementary Demand for Grants in the next Budget session, if required, to meet additional expenditure requirements of various ministries and departments.

Last month, the government extended by three months its programme to provide free ration to the poor at a cost of over Rs 44,700 crore, as it looked to ease pain from high inflation and make political gains in the upcoming state elections.

The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) was started in April 2020 to help the poor whose livelihoods were shuttered by a nationwide lockdown aimed at containing the spread of COVID-19 cases.