The money allotted to energy security and transition is not a subsidy, which is being given indirectly, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday. "There are two objectives of allocating this money: To make a transition from fossil fuel to renewable energy and to make sure that our strategic reserves are all filled up adequately," she said.
The Finance Minister in her Budget speech earlier this month, had announced Rs 35,000 crore for priority capital investment towards energy transition and net zero objectives and energy security by the ministry of petroleum and natural gas.
"The 35,000 crore for oil companies for FY24 is not subsidy — it’s for transition to green energy from fossil fuel," she said.
Reiterating the same, Finance Secretary TV Somanathan said the 35,000 crore given for the energy security and transition is to enable public sector oil company refineries to be upgraded to reduce their emissions to meet India's ambitious green targets. He added that there was an enhanced petroleum subsidy in the revised estimates of this Budget.
On MGNREGA allocation in the Budget
Talking about the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme(MGNREGA), Sitharaman said that the allocation has not gone down. She said that it is demand driven and as and when the demand increases, the Centre provides money.
"We have added some more in the revised estimates for MNREGA, it’s fully provided for," she said.
In the Union Budget 2023, the government slashed the allocation for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme(MGNREGA) to Rs 60,000 crore, the lowest in the past four years. When compared to Rs 73000 crore allocation in the budget estimate (BE) of 2022-2023 the current allocation is 17.8 percent less.
Sitharaman on Friday said that the Budget for MNREGA is fully-utilised by the end of the year and it develops as the demand increases. "This is a very clear strategy which we have adopted," she said.
On wheat and rice procurement
Talking about the procurement of wheat and rice, the Finance Minister said that the government has not brought it down at all.
She said the total amount given to the farmers is very high as the minimum selling price has gone up. "The total amount spent on procurement is at an all-time high now. You can be sure there is no coming down in these figures," she said.
Meanwhile, the Finance Secretary said that apart from the ongoing programmes of PM Kisan Yojna, the agricultural accelerator fund actually helps the marginal farmer.
Talking about dealing with inflation, he said that the RBI and Centre are taking the necessary steps. "The government has been intervening in the market to control inflation, it has received tremendous attention throughout the year with concerted action," he said, adding that fertliser prices for farmers were unchanged with zero inflation.
On Adani-Hindenburg row
When being asked about the exposure of public sector banks to Adani Group companies, in light of the Hindenburg row, the Finance Minister said that the SBI had already given a statement on its exposure. "You have heard it from the horse's mouth," she said.
Earlier this month, SBI Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara had said that the bank’s lending to Adani group companies are only to projects that are tangible assets and have good cash flow and so it was not worried about stock market volatility.
The Adani Group has been focus ever since the short seller Hindenburg Research report's allegations against it.
She also said that the SEBI does not report each and every matter to the Centre. "The matter is being heard via PLA in court today, so maybe it's not right for me to comment," she said.
The Supreme Court has rejected the government’s move to submit suggestions on an expert panel in a sealed envelope and said that it will appoint a panel itself in connection with the case relating to the rout of Adani stocks following the scathing Hindenburg report.
On divestment
Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Secretary of the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), said the Centre's divestment aim follows a calibrated strategy and "we do not want to distort the market. Divestment aim should be realistic."
Earlier this month, the Finance Minister had said the Centre's commitment to privatisation remains as strong as ever and it is just a question of timing when the state-owned companies that are in the pipeline for divestment would be put out.
Also Read: Ready to act against imports that can hurt India, says Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
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