public spending: the government is relaxing standards for ministries in a bid to push public spending
Unspent balances of QEP-2 and QEP-3 can only be used in QEP-3 and QEP-4 respectively after obtaining prior formal approval from the Expenditure Secretary, he added. .
“Ministry/Department should not in any way assume the prior approval of the Expenditure Secretary. This should be formally obtained before using unspent balances. Seeking post approval is not an option “, according to the memorandum dated May 25, 2022.
No more than 33 percent and 15 percent of Estimates spending in a fiscal year would be allowed in the last quarter and the last month of the fiscal year, respectively.
He also advised all Financial Advisors to ensure that the Monthly Expenditure Plan or Quarterly Expenditure Plan Tracker (MEP/QEP) of concurrent sanctions and expenditures against budget provisions is available.
The government has focused on capital spending to spur pandemic-hit growth. Increased public spending is expected to attract private investment.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has increased capital expenditure (capex) by 35.4% for the financial year 2022-23 to Rs 7.5 lakh crore to continue the recovery of the pandemic-stricken economy thanks to to public investment. Last year, the capex was Rs 5.5 lakh crore.
Spending on the construction of multimodal logistics parks, metro systems, highways and trains is expected to create demand for the private sector, as all projects must be implemented by contractors.