LIVE Parliament Updates: The Monsoon Session is taking place amid strict protocols and precautions due to Covid-19. (PTI photo)
Parliament updates LIVE
On the fifth day of the truncated monsoon session of Parliament, Lok Sabha approved the supplementary demands for additional spending of Rs 2.35 lakh crore, including a cash outflow of Rs 1.66 lakh crore, mainly to cover the expenses of fight against the Covid pandemic.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that probably for the first time the government has requested such a large amount in the first batch of supplemental grant applications. She said that the government has sought Rs 40,000 crore towards MGNREGA, thus bringing the total spending to Rs 1 lakh crore, the highest so far. The 2020-21 budget has allocated around Rs 61,500 crore for MGNREGA. She also said that allocations are being increased for people-centered schemes like Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Yojana and other social welfare schemes.
Sitharaman also said that the GST Council will reach common ground on ways to compensate states for lost revenue, amid accusation from the opposition that the Center is breaching its promise to pay compensation. He said he will honor the commitments made by his predecessor Arun Jaitley regarding the payment of offsetting the goods and services tax (GST). “Even if we are in an act of God situation, but we will discuss in the Council how to compensate the states … The Council will take a call on how to borrow to fill the (income) gap,” he said. The minister, however, ruled out financing India’s consolidated fund’s income shortfall, saying the amount should be paid out of compensation.
.
