Govt seeks Par nod for Rs 44,143 cr extra spending in FY25
New Delhi (PTI): The government on Thursday sought Parliament's nod for additional net expenditure of Rs 44,143 crore in the current fiscal, mainly on account of higher spending by agriculture, fertiliser and defence ministries.
The first batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2024-25 was tabled in the Lok Sabha by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary to seek approval of Parliament to authorise gross additional expenditure of Rs 87,762.56 crore.
Of this, proposals involving net cash outgo aggregate to Rs 44,142.87 crore and gross additional expenditure, matched by savings of the Ministries/ Departments or enhanced receipts/recoveries, aggregates to Rs 43,618.43 crore.
The additional spending includes Rs 6,593.73 crore towards the fertiliser subsidy scheme, about Rs 9,000 crore for agriculture and farmer welfare, and Rs 8,000 crore towards defence spendings.
It also includes expenditure of Rs 3,000 crore towards expenditure by the Ministry of External Affairs and Rs 4,800 crore towards expenditure by Home Ministry.
ICRA Chief Economist Aditi Nayar said the net cash outgo under the first Supplementary Demand for Grants is relatively modest and could end up being offset by savings in departments other than those included in this supplementary, for instance, capital expenditure.
"We don't see this additional expenditure as posing a risk to the achievement of the fiscal deficit target, given the expectations of capex undershooting the budgeted amount by at least Rs 1 lakh crore," Nayar said.
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India votes in favour of UNGA resolution demanding immediate, permanent ceasefire in Gaza
United Nations, Dec 12: India voted in favour of a UN General Assembly resolution that demanded an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and reiterated the demand for immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.
The UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly approved resolutions demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and backing the UN agency for Palestinian refugees that Israel has moved to ban.
The 193-member General Assembly voted Wednesday at the 10th emergency special session to adopt the draft resolution ‘Demand for ceasefire in Gaza’, introduced by Indonesia.
India was among the 158 nations that voted in favour of the resolution while nine member states, including Israel and the US, voted against it. Among the 13 nations that abstained were Albania and Ukraine.
The resolution demanded an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire, to be respected by all parties, and further reiterates its demand for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.”
It demanded that the parties fully, unconditionally and without delay implement all the provisions of the Security Council resolution of June 2024 regarding an “immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages, the exchange of Palestinian prisoners, the return of the remains of hostages who have been killed, the return of Palestinian civilians to their homes and neighbourhoods in all areas of Gaza, including in the north, and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.”
The resolution demanded immediate access by the civilian population in the Gaza Strip to basic services and humanitarian assistance indispensable to its survival, while “rejecting any effort to starve Palestinians”.
It further demanded the facilitation of full, rapid, safe and unhindered entry of humanitarian assistance, at scale and under the coordination of the United Nations, to and throughout the Gaza Strip and its delivery to all Palestinian civilians who need it, including to civilians in besieged north Gaza, who are in urgent need of immediate humanitarian relief.
It also demanded that the parties fully comply with their obligations under international law in relation to persons they detain, including by releasing all those arbitrarily detained.
It called upon all parties to fully comply with international law, including international humanitarian law, notably with regard to the protection of civilians, especially women and children.
It reiterated its unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-state solution, with the Gaza Strip as part of the Palestinian State, and where two democratic States, Palestine and Israel, live side by side in peace within secure and recognized borders, consistent with international law and the relevant United Nations resolutions.
The resolution rejected any attempt at demographic or territorial change in the Gaza Strip, including any actions that reduce the territory of the Gaza Strip, and stresses the importance of unifying the Gaza Strip with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority.
Last week, India voted in favour of a General Assembly resolution that called for the withdrawal of Israel from the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, and reiterated the call for achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East.
The draft resolution ‘Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine’ tabled by Senegal was overwhelmingly adopted in the 193-member General Assembly Tuesday.
India was among the 157 nations that voted in favour, while eight Member States - Argentina, Hungary, Israel, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea and the United States voted against it. Cameroon, Czechia, Ecuador, Georgia, Paraguay, Ukraine and Uruguay abstained.
