The Ministry of Finance in a series of tweet on Saturday hit out at the Opposition over its claims on the expenditure incurred by the Modi government since 2014.
The ministry said that amount spent on development by the Modi government during 2014-22 was Rs 90.9 lakh crore, much higher than what is being claimed by the Opposition. It quoted expenditure data of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
"According to the RBI, the total developmental expenditure by the Central Government during the period 2014-22 was a whopping Rs 90,89,233 crore (Rs 90.9 lakh crore)," tweeted the finance ministry.
The expenditure incurred by the Modi government included more than Rs 26 lakh crore spent in the form of capital expenditure to modernise infrastructure and create productive assets, Rs 25 lakh crore for food, fertilizer and fuel subsidies, and Rs 10 lakh crore on social services such as health, education, affordable housing, etc, said the ministry.
"Over the 10 years of UPA, only Rs 13.9 lakh crore was spent on subsidies," it said.
The total developmental expenditure incurred by the UPA government during 2004-14 was only Rs 49.2 lakh crore, said the ministry.
"RBI data shows total developmental expenditure incurred by Modi Govt in 2014-22 was Rs 90.9 lakh cr, far higher than is being alleged by some sections of the Opposition. In contrast, only Rs 49.2 lakh crore was spent on this during 2004-14," it tweeted.
The ministry was responding to the Opposition's claim that the Modi government spent "no more than Rs 2,25,000 crore" on free food grain, cash allowances to women, PM-KISAN and other cash transfers during 2014-2022, far less than the Rs 26.5 lakh crore collected by it from fuel tax.
The ministry said that the Modi government's expenditure was over and above the Rs 93,685.68 crore already spent between 2014-22 on repaying the UPA-era oil bonds. The Centre has repeatedly said that the burden of the oil bonds raised by the UPA government has played a key role in the rising fuel prices as it has not been able to give direct subsidies to Oil Marketing Companies.
The ministry in its tweet also added that an additional Rs 1.48 lakh crore will be paid by 2026.
First Published: Apr 10, 2022 11:07 AM IST
