New Delhi [India], Amid the Lok Sabha elections, Union Finance Minister and BJP leader Nirmala Sitharaman said the government is committed to harnessing cutting-edge technology, enhancing transparency and taking forward the ongoing reforms to lay a strong foundation for a developed India.
In a long series of posts on Twitter, he said his government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after coming back to power, will continue to "maximize the value and impact" of hard-earned taxpayers' money, adding that Making sure it is used in the best possible way. Use for the benefit of all.
He said in the post that various expenditure reforms have helped in saving interest costs while creating transparency and efficiency in treasury management. The Central Government operates 108 Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) through State and Union Territory Governments with a budget of approximately Rs 5.01 lakh crore for 2024.-25 and Rs 4.76 lakh crore for 2023-24. Furthermore, he emphasized that the last decade has seen considerable improvement in the sanctity and credibility of the Union Budget, leaving behind old constraints and outdated practices. Is.
"...Our government has transformed the Budget from a mere record of expenditure into a strategic blueprint for equitable development," he said in his post. On infrastructure, he said, "We make judicious and efficient use of every rupee collected from our taxpayers and give them a transparent picture of public finances. Our efforts to strengthen the budgetary process and practices and bring transparency Various landmark decisions and reforms have been taken by the government." ,,
He mentioned the progress of the budget cycle since 2017-18. The day of budget presentation has been shifted to 1 February every year instead of the last working day of February. This effectively brought forward the expenditure cycle by two months. “Now, the entire budgetary process, including the legislative process, I have completed well before the beginning of the financial year. This has improved administrative efficiency and delivery of schemes as the ministries The full budget is available from April 1 – the beginning of the fiscal year.,'' she explained.
This has also empowered the state governments, which used to present the budget before the Centre. He said states are now able to plan their budgets better as they are now aware of the details of the Centre's fiscal plan for the upcoming year. “This reform helps state governments to plan their project financing counterpart funding, implementation of central projects and borrowing requirements well in advance.,
The progress of the budget cycle assisted in the coordination of financial outlays and expenditure between the Center and the states. He also mentioned the merger of Railway Budget with the Union Budget. From 2017-18, the present government merged the Railway Budget with the Union Budget to bring railway matters to the center stage.
Explaining the significance of the merger he said, "The number of demands for grants handled by the Railways has been reduced from 1 to one, and the appropriation for the Railways is part of the main Appropriation Bill."
Talking about the transparency brought in by his government in the budget numbers, he said that he has given priority to transparency in budget practices and numbers. Taking a dig at the main opposition party under the UPA, he said, "This Congress-led UPA government This is in sharp contrast to the repeated practice of hiding the deficit through off-budget borrowing and issuing 'oil bonds', which somewhat covertly shifted the fiscal burden to future generations.He alleged that standard fiscal practices were routinely altered to make budget numbers appear favorable, adding, "Countries with transparent budgets are often viewed more favorably by international bodies such as the IMF and the World Bank. This can improve global confidence,” he said, reiterating that despite the increase in food subsidy allocation, the entire food subsidy should be provided through the government budget in a transparent manner. In 2020-21, the government repaid all the outstanding loans provided to the FCI in lieu of food subsidy by 2022. There has been a significant increase from -23.2023-24 respectively, which will reduce their dependence on market borrowings.In his long posts, he also talked about rationalization of supplementary demand for grants. Usually, three supplementary demands for grants were presented to the Parliament during a financial year to demand additional grants. It was decided to limit the number of supplementary demands for grants to two from 2022-23 onwards, which are now presented during the Winter and Budget sessions, to enable adequate reallocation within the appropriations already approved in the Appropriations or Regular Budget. The process of budget estimates is a better fiscal discipline," Sitharaman wrote on the Contingency Fund of India, a mechanism prescribed by the Constitution that facilitates the Center to meet unexpected expenditure when Parliament is not in session, she said. That his government has increased the Contingency Fund from Rs 500 crore to Rs 30,000 crore with the approval of Parliament in 2021-22. However, despite rapid growth in the budget over the years, the corpus of this fund has remained the same since 2005- 06 to Rs 500 crore.The problem of low funds was acutely felt during COVID-19 when Parliament could not meet and function. Wastage of vital resources of the country. The minister said it also ensures that every rupee collected from taxpayers is utilized with utmost efficiency.
In a long series of posts on Twitter, he said his government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after coming back to power, will continue to "maximize the value and impact" of hard-earned taxpayers' money, adding that Making sure it is used in the best possible way. Use for the benefit of all.
He said in the post that various expenditure reforms have helped in saving interest costs while creating transparency and efficiency in treasury management. The Central Government operates 108 Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) through State and Union Territory Governments with a budget of approximately Rs 5.01 lakh crore for 2024.-25 and Rs 4.76 lakh crore for 2023-24. Furthermore, he emphasized that the last decade has seen considerable improvement in the sanctity and credibility of the Union Budget, leaving behind old constraints and outdated practices. Is.
"...Our government has transformed the Budget from a mere record of expenditure into a strategic blueprint for equitable development," he said in his post. On infrastructure, he said, "We make judicious and efficient use of every rupee collected from our taxpayers and give them a transparent picture of public finances. Our efforts to strengthen the budgetary process and practices and bring transparency Various landmark decisions and reforms have been taken by the government." ,,
He mentioned the progress of the budget cycle since 2017-18. The day of budget presentation has been shifted to 1 February every year instead of the last working day of February. This effectively brought forward the expenditure cycle by two months. “Now, the entire budgetary process, including the legislative process, I have completed well before the beginning of the financial year. This has improved administrative efficiency and delivery of schemes as the ministries The full budget is available from April 1 – the beginning of the fiscal year.,'' she explained.
This has also empowered the state governments, which used to present the budget before the Centre. He said states are now able to plan their budgets better as they are now aware of the details of the Centre's fiscal plan for the upcoming year. “This reform helps state governments to plan their project financing counterpart funding, implementation of central projects and borrowing requirements well in advance.,
The progress of the budget cycle assisted in the coordination of financial outlays and expenditure between the Center and the states. He also mentioned the merger of Railway Budget with the Union Budget. From 2017-18, the present government merged the Railway Budget with the Union Budget to bring railway matters to the center stage.
Explaining the significance of the merger he said, "The number of demands for grants handled by the Railways has been reduced from 1 to one, and the appropriation for the Railways is part of the main Appropriation Bill."
Talking about the transparency brought in by his government in the budget numbers, he said that he has given priority to transparency in budget practices and numbers. Taking a dig at the main opposition party under the UPA, he said, "This Congress-led UPA government This is in sharp contrast to the repeated practice of hiding the deficit through off-budget borrowing and issuing 'oil bonds', which somewhat covertly shifted the fiscal burden to future generations.He alleged that standard fiscal practices were routinely altered to make budget numbers appear favorable, adding, "Countries with transparent budgets are often viewed more favorably by international bodies such as the IMF and the World Bank. This can improve global confidence,” he said, reiterating that despite the increase in food subsidy allocation, the entire food subsidy should be provided through the government budget in a transparent manner. In 2020-21, the government repaid all the outstanding loans provided to the FCI in lieu of food subsidy by 2022. There has been a significant increase from -23.2023-24 respectively, which will reduce their dependence on market borrowings.In his long posts, he also talked about rationalization of supplementary demand for grants. Usually, three supplementary demands for grants were presented to the Parliament during a financial year to demand additional grants. It was decided to limit the number of supplementary demands for grants to two from 2022-23 onwards, which are now presented during the Winter and Budget sessions, to enable adequate reallocation within the appropriations already approved in the Appropriations or Regular Budget. The process of budget estimates is a better fiscal discipline," Sitharaman wrote on the Contingency Fund of India, a mechanism prescribed by the Constitution that facilitates the Center to meet unexpected expenditure when Parliament is not in session, she said. That his government has increased the Contingency Fund from Rs 500 crore to Rs 30,000 crore with the approval of Parliament in 2021-22. However, despite rapid growth in the budget over the years, the corpus of this fund has remained the same since 2005- 06 to Rs 500 crore.The problem of low funds was acutely felt during COVID-19 when Parliament could not meet and function. Wastage of vital resources of the country. The minister said it also ensures that every rupee collected from taxpayers is utilized with utmost efficiency.
