Govt's FY19 Budget size: Around Rs 23.4 lakh crore

The projected total spending is 9% higher than the 2017-18 total Union Budget size of Rs 21.47 lakh cr

As the finance ministry starts its Budget preparations, one number will act as the starting point for all the work it does between now and February 1: Rs 23.4 lakh crore. That is the total projected expenditure, and hence, the possible size of the Budget, for 2018-19, as laid out in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF).

The 2017-18 MTEF, tabled in Parliament in August, projects expenditure, and its break-up into various categories, allocations and classifications, for 2018-19 and 2019-20. The projected total spending is 9 per cent higher than the 2017-18 total Union Budget size of Rs 21.47 lakh