Budget advancement helps Centre, states start spending early

The govt will release Rs 20,000 crore to FCI this month to start procurement in Punjab and Haryana

Advancing the Budget and notifying the Finance Act, 2017, have enabled the Centre and state governments to start spending from the first month of the financial year from the central funds. 

Earlier, expenditures for current liabilities such as salaries and pensions used to be incurred from April and for the rest of the crucial outlays would have to wait till the enactment of the Finance Act, which used to happen in June. By that time, the monsoon would have arrived and farmers would have already started sowing. 

Early release of expenditure, particularly capex, is all the more relevant at the current juncture,