TEXT :
17.58 hrs.
Motions moved:
"That the respective sums not exceeding the amounts on Revenue Account and Capital Account shown in the fourth column of the Order Paper be granted to the President out of the Consolidated Fund of India, to complete the sums necessary to defray the charges that will come in course of payment during the year ending the 31st day of March, 1999 in respect of the heads of demands entered in the second column thereof, against Demand Nos.:
1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 24, 25, 26, 28, 34, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 54, 55, 56, 58, 60, 63, 64, 66, 67, 71, 72, 73, 75, 78, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 87, 89, 92, 95, 96, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102 and 103."
"That the respective excess sums not exceeding the amounts shown in the third column of the Order Paper be granted to the Presidnet out of the Consolidated Fund of India to make good the excess on the respective grants during the year ended 31st day of March, 1997, in respect of the following demands entered in the second column thereof:
Demand Nos. 8, 14, 24, 56, 62, 82 and 83."
... (´ªÉ´ÉvÉÉxÉ)
THE MINISTER OF CIVIL AVIATION AND MINISTER OF TOURISM (SHRI ANANTH KUMAR): Sir, the hon. Finance Minister is replying to a debate in the Rajya Sabha. I am representing him here and I am taking all the notes... (Interruptions)
Cabinet Minister should have been present here... (Interruptions)
MAJOR GENERAL BHUVAN CHANDRA KHANDURI, AVSM (GARHWAL): Shri Baalu, the hon. Minister is in the Rajya Sabha for replying to a debate.
18.00 hrs.
The present Budget is presented in the context of global economic recession.
Capital expenditure has been compressed. This is true with the budgetary support as well. Even the outlay on rural development programmes has been cut by 5.5 per cent less than initially planned.
Hope triumphs over realism.
Hope triumphs over realism in the expenditure figures as well. Between 1997-98 and 1998-99 (both Revised Estimates), Revenue Expenditure (which, roughly speaking, is the non-productive part of Government spending) increased by a little less than 20 per cent. By some magic, the order of increase will be less than 9 per cent the coming year, comparing the Revised Estimates of 1998-99 to the Budget Estimates of 1999-2000.
In absolute terms, this means that while the Government spent Rs.35,939 crore more in 1998-99 compared to 1997-98 on salaries, establishment costs etc., in 1999-2000 the annual increase will be only Rs. 18,848 crore.
GDP