The central government on Tuesday sought the Parliament’s approval for an additional expenditure of ₹23,675 crore for this financial year, in view of the increased spending on healthcare amid the pandemic. 

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman also sought Parliament’s nod for transferring loans of around ₹1.59 lakh crore raised from the market as part of its commitment to compensate states for the revenue shortfall under the goods and services tax. This is part of a nearly ₹1.64 lakh crore technical supplementary grant that do not involve a net cash outgo, as it is financed either by savings, extra revenues or other arrangements. 

The objective of the supplementary grant is to allow states to have access to additional funds and create capacity in healthcare, primarily in the rural areas, said D.K. Srivastava, chief policy advisor, EY India. 

Around 72% of the additional spending, involving net cash outgo of ₹23,675 crore projected in the first supplementary demand goes to the healthcare sector. The rest will be used for loans to Air India, sugar mills, and to lenders for the compound interest support scheme for loan moratorium, showed the document tabled by Sitharaman.