Union Budget 2021-22
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Union Budget 2021-22 Analysis of expenditure by Ministries March 2021 PRS Legislative Research March, 2021 Institute for Policy Research Studies 3rd Floor, Gandharva Mahavidyalaya 212, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg New Delhi – 110 002 Tel: (011) 4343-4035, 2323-4801 www.prsindia.org Contributors: Mandira Kala Prachee Mishra Aditya Kumar Manish Kanadje Prachi Kaur Saket Surya Shruti Gupta Suyash Tiwari DISCLAIMER: This document is being furnished to you for your information. You may choose to reproduce or redistribute this report for non-commercial purposes in part or in full to any other person with due acknowledgement of PRS Legislative Research (“PRS”). The opinions expressed herein are entirely those of the author(s). PRS makes every effort to use reliable and comprehensive information, but PRS does not represent that the contents of the report are accurate or complete. PRS is an independent, not-for-profit group. This document has been prepared without regard to the objectives or opinions of those who may receive it. Table of Contents Overview ........................................................................................................................................... 1 Budget at a glance ............................................................................................................................. 3 Receipts Highlights ......................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Expenditure Highlights ............................................................................................................................................................ .... 10 Defence ............................................................................................................................................15 Food and Public Distribution ..............................................................................................................23 Railways ...........................................................................................................................................36 Home Affairs .....................................................................................................................................46 Rural Development ...........................................................................................................................56 Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare .....................................................................................................64 Road Transport and Highways ..........................................................................................................76 Education .........................................................................................................................................84 Health and Family Welfare ................................................................................................................97 Jal Shakti ........................................................................................................................................108 Telecommunications .......................................................................................................................119 Housing and Urban Affairs ..............................................................................................................126 Petroleum and Natural Gas .............................................................................................................136 Science and Technology .................................................................................................................143 Environment ...................................................................................................................................153 Overview The central government’s expenditure is authorised through the Union Budget by the Parliament every year. The Constitution requires all expenditure (other than charged expenditure) to be submitted to Lok Sabha in the form of Ministry-wise Demand for Grants. These Demand for Grants are referred to the respective Departmentally Related Standing Committees for detailed examination. They are then discussed in the House and approved. After Lok Sabha authorises these demands, an Appropriation Bill is introduced and passed to permit this expenditure out of the Consolidated Fund of India. This document contains a short analysis of the Union Budget, and a close look at the allocations made by 15 ministries, which account for 54% of the total expenditure by the centre. Further, we analyse the allocation trends over the years, and the extent of their utilisation. We also examine the implementation of various schemes and policies and their resulting outcomes. Note that due to the impact of COVID-19, 2020-21 was not a standard year with respect to the performance of the economy and government finances. In this note, we have compared the budget estimates of 2021-22 with the actual expenditure for 2019-20 (in terms of compounded annual growth rate or CAGR). The Union Budget 2021-22 which was presented on February 1, 2021 proposes an expenditure of Rs 34,83,236 (net of devolution of taxes to states) for the year. This amount will be funded through receipts (other than borrowings) of Rs 19,76,424 crore and borrowings of Rs 15,06,812 crore. Fiscal deficit is budgeted at 6.8% of GDP as compared to 4.6% in 2019-20. The target for revenue deficit is 5.1% of the GDP, higher than the actual revenue deficit of 3.3% in 2019-20. Devolution to states from centre’s tax revenue is estimated to be Rs 6,65,563 crore in 2021-22, which is marginally higher than the devolution of Rs 6,50,678 crore in 2019-20. In 2020-21, the devolution to states reduced by 30% from an estimate of Rs 7,84,181 crore at the budgeted stage to Rs 5,49,959 crore at the revised stage. This would adversely impact the expenditure by states, especially for those where the taxes devolved from the centre form a significant share of the revenue. Besides the overall financial outlay, the budget also provides details of tax proposals in the Finance Bill. The budget proposes to limit tax-free income from provident funds at Rs 2.5 lakh. Other proposals include: (i) extension of certain temporary tax incentives up to the financial year 2021-22, (ii) levy of a new agriculture and infrastructure development cess on petrol, diesel, and imports of certain items, and (iii) a reduction in the time limit specified for reopening income tax assessments from six years to three years. Allocations to the top 15 schemes account for 12% of the total expenditure. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has the highest allocation at Rs 73,000 crore. This is followed by the allocation to the PM-KISAN scheme (income support to farmers) at Rs 65,000 crore. The issues discussed in the analysis of each ministry include the following: ▪ Defence: The Ministry of Defence has been allocated Rs 4,78,196 crore. This constitutes 13.7% of the central government’s budget and 2.1% of India’s estimated GDP for 2021-22. However, the share of defence budget as a proportion of total government expenditure has decreased. The actual expenditure on defence by the three armed forces has also been lower (by 12% to 36%) than the amount projected by the three services. Expenditure on salaries forms the largest portion of the defence budget (30%), followed by expenditure on capital outlay (27%) and pensions (24%). ▪ Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution: The Ministry has two departments: (i) Food and Public Distribution, which has been allocated Rs 2,42,836 crore (99% of the Ministry’s allocation), and (ii) Consumer Affairs, which has been allocated Rs 2,974 crore. This year the allocation for food subsidy to Food Corporation of India (FCI) has been increased significantly (64% annual increase over 2019-20) to enable the FCI to clear its dues (loans it had taken from the NSSF). ▪ Railways: Railways’ revenue for 2021-22 is estimated at Rs 2,17,460 crore, which is an annual increase of 12% from the actual expenditure of 2019-20. Revenue expenditure by Railways is projected at Rs 2,10,899 crore which is an annual increase of 10% from the actual expenditure for 2019-20. The Operating Ratio is estimated to be 96.2%. Due to the impact of COVID-19, the freight traffic volume in 2020-21 is estimated to decline by 7%, and consequently, Railways’ own revenue is estimated to decline by 35% from the budget estimate ▪ Home Affairs: The Ministry of Home Affairs has been allocated Rs 1,66,547 crore. Since 2019, expenditure of the Ministry also includes grants to the newly formed Union Territories (UTs) of Jammu - 1 - Overview PRS Legislative Research and Kashmir, and Ladakh. 62% of the Ministry’s expenditure is on police (includes the central armed police forces and Delhi Police), and 32% is on grants made to UTs. ▪ Rural Development: Expenditure by the Ministry of Rural Development is estimated at Rs 1,33,690 crore. This Ministry administers some large schemes such as MGNREGS, PMAY-G (rural housing) and PMGSY (rural roads). About 56% of the Ministry’s allocation is towards MGNREGS. In 2021-22, allocation towards MGNREGS is estimated to increase at an annual rate of 1% compared to actual expenditure in 2019-20, while that for PMGSY is estimated to be increase by 3%. ▪ Agriculture: The Ministry has been allocated Rs 1,31,531 crore in 2021-22, which is a 14% annual increase from the actual