A large part of the additional expenditure demands may be met through savings or enhanced receipts of various ministries and departments, without letting the overall spending to skyrocket, he indicated.
He hinted that the overall 2024-25 subsidy outgo may remain within budgeted limit of ₹4.28 lakh crore, even though there could be variations in dole-out amounts earmarked for each of the major segments.
Bullish on capital spending
The government expects capital spending to accelerate in the coming months after a sluggish first half and reach targeted ₹11.11 lakh crore this fiscal, the official said. It may waive the spending limit for the March quarter to boost such productive expenditure, if required, he added.The Centre is nudging all states to fully utilise the 50-year interest-free loans (₹1.5 lakh crore for 2024-25) earmarked for them to create capital assets, he said. Under the scheme for special assistance to states for capital investment, their projects worth only ₹50,069 crore were approved in the first half of 2024-25.
The Centre has raised its capital spending outlay for FY25 by 17.1% from a year before. However, expenditure in the first half of the fiscal fell 15.4% from a year before, reflecting the impact of the general election in the June quarter on project execution and heavy monsoon downpours in August and September.