Rajya Sabha has approved an additional Rs.56,256.32 crore of supplementary demands for grants to the government, mainly for defence pension and Swachh Bharat Mission. The upper house has passed appropriation bill Nos. 4 and 5 by a voice vote without debate, after these were moved by minister of state for finance Jayant Sinha and returned to Lok Sabha, which had already given its nod.

Proposals involving net cash outgo aggregate to Rs.18,195.4 crore and gross additional expenditure, matched by savings of ministries and departments, or by enhanced receipts and recoveries aggregate to Rs.38,059.78 crore, as per the demands.

The supplementary demands have also earmarked an additional Rs.5,735.4 crore for “meeting expenditure towards increased rate of relief on pensions and growth in pensions” for retired defence personnel. The demands include Rs.2,169 crore towards Swachh Bharat Mission, Rs.3,000 crore towards Pradhan Mantari Gramin Sadak Yojna, and Rs.2,500 crore towards irrigation scheme.

They also include an additional Rs.952 crore towards loan to Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd, and Rs.344 crore for financial relief to ITI Ltd. It also has provision for an additional Rs.300 crore for Polavaram Irrigation Project in terms of support under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.

The technical supplementary demands for grants include Rs.10,000 crore for providing ways and means advances to the Food Corporation of India to meet cash flow requirements towards procurement of foodgrain for targeted public distribution system. These also include Rs.5,528.56 crore for the road transport and highways ministry, Rs.1,000 crore for new and renewable energy ministry, and Rs.8,968.4 crore for the rural development ministry.