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NEW DELHI : A large number of Union ministries had utilised only about two-thirds of their revised budgetary allocations for 2023-24 in the first nine months of the financial year.
The actual total expenditure between April and December was ₹30.41 trillion, against the revised allocation of ₹44.90 trillion for 56 ministries, the Union finance ministry said in a statement on ministry-wise utilisation of the Budget allocation for FY24.
The statement was a part of the government’s response to questions at the Rajya Sabha last week.
Among those with large allocations, the railways, road transport and highways ministries utilised up to 85% of their allocations, and the defence ministry about 71%.
The ministry of railways, which was allocated ₹2.43 trillion for FY24 as per the Budget’s revised estimate, had spent ₹2.08 trillion till 31 December.
The ministry of road transport and highways spent ₹2.28 trillion of its ₹2.76 trillion allocation.
But other ministries have utilised far less. The consumer affairs, food and public distribution ministry till December utilised about 64% of its budgetary allocations for FY24, the education ministry about 46%, and the ministry for micro, small and medium enterprises about 23%.
The ministry of education, which was allocated about ₹1.3 trillion for FY24, spent only about ₹592 billion till 31 December. The consumer affairs, food and public distribution ministry, which was allocated ₹2.22 trillion for the ongoing fiscal year, has spent ₹1.39 trillion.
Experts, however, say a large chunk of expenditure of central government ministries and departments happens in the final quarter of a fiscal year, with payments for various projects and schemes cleared during the period.
“The payment or funding for a lot of projects usually happens in the last quarter of the fiscal year,” said N.R. Bhanumurthy, vice-chancellor at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar School of Economics University, Bengaluru. “There could also be savings (from) better utilisation of schemes and projects.”
Other ministries with high allocations, such as finance and rural development, also have been measured in their spending.
As of 31 December, the finance ministry had spent about 66.2% of its allocated amount of ₹16.27 trillion, while the rural development ministry had spent about 63% of its allocated ₹1.73 trillion.
According to the expenditure profile for 2024-25 in the latest budget, the expenditure of various central government ministries and departments under budget estimates stands at ₹47.66 trillion for the next fiscal year, up from the revised estimate of ₹44.90 trillion for FY24.
The estimated revenue expenditure for FY25 is ₹36.55 trillion, and for capital expenditure ₹11.11 trillion.
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Published: 11 Feb 2024, 06:36 PM IST
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