Government Seeks Parliament Nod for Rs 2.01 Lakh Crore Additional Spending in FY26

New Delhi: The central government on Tuesday sought Parliament’s approval to spend a net additional Rs 2.01 lakh crore in the current financial year ending March 31, with a major chunk of the expenditure going towards food and fertilizer subsidy.

According to the second set of Grant Additional Demands submitted by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Lok Sabha, the government has sought permission for gross additional expenditure of Rs 2.81 lakh crore.

Out of this, Rs 80.146 billion will be met from enhanced revenues or recoveries of ministries and ministries and the net cash outlay will be over Rs 2.01 lakh crore. In December 2025, the government brought the first supplementary demands for grants seeking Parliament’s approval for gross extra expenditure of ₹1.32 lakh crore and net additional expenditure of ₹41,455 crore.

The government has demanded 19.230 billion rupees for the fertilizer department and 23.641 billion rupees for subsidies under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY). Other major expenditure items include Rs 41.822 billion for the defense ministry.

In the Revised Estimates for the current fiscal, the government reduced the total expenditure from Rs 50.65 lakh crore to Rs 49.65 lakh crore. According to Controller General of Accounts (CGA) data, till January the government had spent Rs 36.90 lakh crore.

However, ICRA chief economist Aditi Nayar said although the net cash outflow under the second supplementary grant request is pegged at a sizeable Rs 2 lakh crore, it is likely to be largely offset by expenditure savings across ministries.

“For example, the Government of India’s revenue expenditure needs to rise at a rapid pace of 30 per cent annually during February-March 2026 to meet the FY 2026 RE, requiring an incremental amount of Rs 2.3 lakh crore. As a result, we do not expect any significant fiscal slippage on this account,” Nayar said.