Budget 2022: Steep subsidy sums for food and fertiliser likely

Budget 2022: Subsidies have been a bugbear of the Indian economy for long

The Union Budget 2022 could allocate steep sums for food and fertiliser subsidies for 2022-23, similar to the Revised Estimates for the current fiscal year, analysts say, as global commodity prices remain elevated and the poorest sections of the society still suffer from distress caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2021-22, the food and fertiliser budgeted subsidy outlays were Rs 2.43 trillion and Rs 79,530 crore, respectively.

With the government extending the free foodgrain scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY) as Covid relief, available figures show the Revised Estimates of the food subsidy for FY22 could