Rs 1.5-trn spending rationalisation helps govt meet FY23 deficit target

Without the expenditure rationalisation, the Revised Estimates (RE) for the Centre's total spending would have been about Rs 43.4 trillion instead of Rs 41.9 trillion

The Centre has carried out an expenditure rationalisation exercise of at least Rs 1.5 trillion in the current fiscal year (2022-23, or FY23). This move has helped it meet the fiscal deficit target of 6.4 per cent of nominal gross domestic product (GDP), Business Standard has learnt.

These savings have come through better monitoring of funds through a single nodal agency (SNA) dashboard, better scrutiny of schemes like the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), weeding out undeserved beneficiaries and duplication, eliminating leakages in food subsidy, and organic savings for schemes where all of the allocated amounts weren’t used.

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