Appropriation Bill for FY23 excess spending approved

New Delhi: The Parliament on Thursday approved a Bill seeking its authorisation for the appropriation of money out of the Consolidated Fund of India to account for certain FY23 expenditures that were in excess of the funds granted for that year.

The Appropriation (No 3) Bill, 2026, introduced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, sought clearance for two expenditure items relating to FY23, which were cleared by the Upper House. The Lok Sabha had passed the Bill earlier. The bigger of the two expenditure items involves Rs 53,871 crore and pertains to the repayment of debt. But this is already netted out against the issuance of securities, Sitharaman said in the Rajya Sabha. This means there is no additional fiscal impact at the moment. The other item, amounting to ₹196.44 crore, pertains to the railway ministry and arose from a court order.

Replying to questions raised in the Rajya Sabha, Sitharaman also highlighted the Union government's assistance to Jammu & Kashmir, reiterating commitments to its all-round development. The Centre cleared many "overhangs that J&K was suffering from" during the period when J&K was under central administration after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 and until an elected government took office there, she said.


The Centre also bears the salary and pensions of J&K Police personnel, which amount to about ₹13,000 crore a year, she said.