The total expenditure of the central government is likely to touch Rs 26 lakh crore in 2019-20, up from Rs 21.46 lakh crore estimated for the current fiscal, a finance ministry document said yesterday.
The Centre's capital expenditure is expected to rise 25% to Rs 3.9 lakh crore in 2019-20, with defence outlay alone jumping 22%, said the Medium-term Expenditure Framework Statement (MTEF) tabled in Parliament.
Together with revenue expenditure, government's total spending is projected to rise from Rs 21.46 lakh crore in 2017-18 to Rs 23.4 lakh crore in the next financial year and Rs 25.95 lakh crore in 2019-20, it said.
The capital expenditure is projected at Rs 3.09 lakh crore in the current fiscal and revenue expenditure at Rs 18.36 lakh crore, taking the total to Rs 21.46 lakh crore. The document, the ministry said, has set forth a three- year rolling target for the expenditure indicators with specification of underlying assumptions and risks involved.
Defence, which accounts for about 30% of the government's capital outlay, will see the spending rise from Rs 91,580 crore in the current fiscal to Rs 1,01,137 crore in the next one and Rs 1,11,706 crore in 2019-20.
While outgo on fertiliser subsidy is projected to be flat at Rs 70,000 crore between the current fiscal and 2019-20, the food subsidy bill will rise to Rs 1.75 lakh crore in 2018-19 and Rs 2 lakh crore in the following fiscal. Food subsidy bill in current fiscal is pegged at Rs 1.45 lakh crore