Centre to shell out Rs 100 billion more on subsidies

Mainly on account of Rs 64.95-billion subsidy on cooking gas and kerosene provided for the first time

The Centre will have to shell out over Rs 100 billion more on various subsidies including food and fertilisers during the next fiscal as compared to Rs 298.01 billion in budget estimates of 2001-02, mainly on account of Rs 64.95 billion subsidy on cooking gas and kerosene provided for the first time.

Despite an all-out effort to tighten the belt and hike in fertiliser prices, the 2002-03 Budget presented in Lok Sabha by Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha on Thursday has pegged the major subsidy outgo at Rs 398.01 billion.

The amount to be doled out as subsidies includes Rs 64.95-billion subsidy on domestic LPG and kerosene upon dismantling of Administrative Price Mechanism and food and fertilisers subsidies.

Oil pool deficit would be partly liquidated by issue of Government bonds to the petroleum companies on 31 March this year.

Food subsidies at a whopping Rs 212 billion, as against Rs 176.12 billion in the current fiscal, would constitute bulk of the total subsidy amount, followed by about Rs 120 billion to be shared by the fertiliser sector.

The subsidy amount for indigenous urea would be Rs 64.99 billion, while the outgo for imported urea would be Rs 5.05 billion. An amount of Rs 42.24 billion would be spent on sale of decontrolled fertilisers like phosphates and potash with concession to farmers.

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