NDA has spent more on infra, social sector than UPA: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 10

In the latest battle on social media between Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Congress leader P Chidambaram, who also held the Finance portfolio during the previous UPA government, the former has asserted that the Narendra Modi government has spent the maximum among all dispensations on social sector programmes and infrastructure development over the past eight years.

Sitharaman counters Chidambaram

• The overall developmental expenditure undertaken by the Centre amounted to Rs 91 lakh crore between 2014-15 and 2021-22
• In contrast, the Congress-led UPA government spent Rs49.2 lakh crore during its 10 years in power
• The Modi government spent Rs24.85 lakh crore on food, fuel and fertiliser subsidies and Rs26.3 lakh crore on capital creation. The UPA spent only Rs14 lakh crore on subsidies over its 10 years

In a series of tweets, Sitharaman said she was responding to Chidambaram’s comments on the very high collection of fuel tax, but less spending on the people.

The overall developmental expenditure undertaken by the Centre amounted to nearly Rs 91 lakh crore between 2014-15 and 2021-22, she posted.

Embedding RBI’s data in her tweet, Sitharaman said in contrast the Congress-led UPA government spent Rs 49.2 lakh crore during its 10 years in power. Sitharaman also tweeted details of the RBI data regarding the government’s expenditure so far on food, fuel and fertiliser subsidies as well as capital creation. The Modi government spent Rs 24.85 lakh crore on these three heads and Rs 26.3 lakh crore on capital creation. But the UPA spent only Rs 14 lakh crore on subsidies over its 10 years, the minister said.

Earlier this month, Chidambaram had said the Modi government collected Rs 26.5 lakh crore from fuel tax collections between 2014 and 2021, but the total outgo on PM-KISAN, free food grain, cash allowances to women and other cash transfers is “no more than Rs 2.25 lakh crore — which is less than the annual fuel taxes collected by the Centre alone”.

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