Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman speaks in the Lok Sabha during the second part of the Budget session of Parliament on March 13, 2026. Photo: Sansad TV via PTI
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday (March 13, 2026) said the ₹57,381.84 crore Economic Stabilisation Fund will give fiscal headroom to allow India to respond to global headwinds.
Replying to the debate on the second batch of supplementary demands for grants in the Lok Sabha, she said the fund will act as a buffer to absorb shocks arising due to unforeseen global challenges like the current one in West Asia.
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“The ₹1 lakh crore Economic Stabilisation Fund will give fiscal headroom to allow India to respond to global headwinds,” she said.
Through the second batch of supplementary demands, the government sought Lok Sabha approval for spending a gross ₹2.81 lakh crore extra in the current fiscal year. With additional receipts of ₹80,000 crore budgeted for the current fiscal year, the net additional cash spending will be ₹2.01 lakh crore.
Ms. Sitharaman said the fiscal deficit for the current financial year (2025-26) will be within the Revised Estimates (RE).
In RE 2025-26, the fiscal deficit has been estimated at par with the Budget Estimates (BE) of 2025-26 at 4.4% of GDP.
“There is no increase in expenditure beyond the BE of 2025-26 due to the second supplementary,” Ms. Sitharaman said, amid continuous sloganeering by Opposition members over LPG shortage concerns.
In the Revised Estimates for the current fiscal year, the government had cut total expenditure to ₹49.65 lakh crore, from ₹50.65 lakh crore in BE.
Till January, the government had spent ₹36.90 lakh crore, according to Controller General of Accounts (CGA) data.
The supplementary demands for grants include grants spending towards setting up an Economic Stabilisation Fund of ₹1 lakh crore. Also, Parliament’s nod has been sought for an extra spending of ₹19,230 crore towards fertilisers’ subsidy and ₹23,641 crore for subsidies under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY). Other major expenditure heads include ₹41,822 crore for the defence ministry.
Ms. Sitharaman said there will be no shortage of fertilisers for farmers, and adequate provision has been made in the supplementary demands for grants.
Published – March 13, 2026 03:49 pm IST
