Budget 2024: Government's FY25 Subsidy Spend Trimmed To Rs 3.81 Lakh Crore
Fertiliser subsidy has been pegged at Rs 1.64 lakh crore, a drop of 13.2% from the revised estimate for FY24.
The government has estimated spending on food, fertiliser and fuel subsidies for FY25 to be lower than a year ago.
Expenditure on food, fertilisers and petroleum—the government's largest revenue expense after interest payments—is expected at Rs 3.81 lakh crore for FY25, as compared with Rs 4.13 lakh crore for FY24, according to budget documents.
For FY25
Food subsidies have been budgeted at Rs 2 lakh crore, a decline of 3.3% from the revised estimate for FY24.
Fertiliser subsidy has been pegged at Rs 1.64 lakh crore, a drop of 13.2% from the revised estimate for FY24.
Fuel subsidies have been budgeted at Rs 11,925 crore, a fall of 2.6% from the revised estimate for FY24.
Subsidies in FY24, however, were 10.3% higher than the budget estimate as the government had to step up support in the form of free food grains and fertiliser subsidies amid higher commodity inflation.
The government had extended the free food programme to 81.35 lakh beneficiaries for the next five years, at an estimated cost of Rs 11.80 lakh crore over the five-year period.
For FY25, oil prices are expected to be lower, while the fertiliser subsidy is expected to be slightly above the pre-pandemic average in FY25 because of an expected increase in prices.