Union ministries have used up only 68% of revised budgetary allocation for FY24

livemint.com:

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