Parliament LIVE updates: The Monsoon Session is being held amid strict protocols and precautions due to Covid-19. (PTI Photo)

Parliament LIVE updates

On the fifth day of Parliament’s truncated monsoon session, Lok Sabha approved the supplementary demands for additional spending of Rs 2.35 lakh crore, which include a cash outgo of Rs 1.66 lakh crore, primarily to meet expenses for combating the Covid pandemic.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that probably for the first time the government has sought such a huge amount in the first batch of the supplementary demands for grants. She said the government has sought Rs 40,000 crore towards MGNREGA, thus taking the total outgo towards Rs 1 lakh crore, the highest so far. The budget for 2020-21 has earmarked about Rs 61,500 crore for MGNREGA. She also said the allocations are being increased for people-centric schemes like PM Garib Kalyan Yojana and other social welfare schemes.

Sitharaman also said that the GST Council will arrive at a common ground on ways to compensate states for loss of revenue, amid opposition charge that the Centre is reneging on its promise of paying compensation. She said she will honour the commitments made by her predecessor Arun Jaitley with regard to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation payout. “Even if we are in an act of God situation, but we will discuss in the Council how to give compensation to the states… The Council will take a call on how to borrow to meet the (revenue) gap,” she said. The minister, however, ruled out funding the revenue shortfall from the consolidated fund of India, saying the amount has to be paid from the compensation cess kitty.