what efforts the public would have taken to include their demands in budget ?
Answers
The expenditure of the central government has increased from Rs 3.3 lakh crore in 2000-01 to Rs 24.4 lakh crore in 2018-19. This translates to an expenditure of about Rs 20,000 per person. With the objective of improving the quality of life of citizens, these public funds are spent across various sectors such as defence, security, agriculture, health, social welfare, education, and infrastructure.
Members of Parliament (MPs) have a core role in examining how this money is being raised, how it is planned to be spent, and whether such spending would lead to desired outcomes. MPs hold the government accountable for use of public funds in two stages. Firstly, before the beginning of each year, they scrutinise and approve the Union Budget which contains the expenditure priorities, taxation proposals, and borrowing requirements for the upcoming financial year. Second, they examine the audit reports on the approved spending to see whether the allocation was used effectively and appropriately.
This primer explains the mechanisms by which MPs conduct financial oversight of the government. It explains key terms used in budget documents to describe government income and spending and the gap between the two as a surplus or a deficit. The primer also describes the different documents presented in the budget and what information may be gathered from each of them.