In an earlier article, we looked the actual expenditure by the government compared to estimates. In this piece, we look at some key departments namely Agriculture, Defence, Health & Family Welfare, Revenue, New & Renewable energy and the trend in actual expenditure Vs estimates. In every Union Budget, theGovernment of India makes provision for the expenditure during the nextfinancial year. In the earlier article, we learnt that the financeministry makes these budget allocations based on the requests received fromeach of the ministries after due consultation. A good portion of the expendituregoes into the different schemes sponsored and run by the central government. Wedid a detailed study of the estimated expenditure for 2017-18 and the actualexpenditure on the central government schemes in the earlier article. We would now focus on the estimatedexpenditure for 2017-18 in some of the important departments/ministries and theactual figures for the year. Actual Revenue expenditure is higher while Capital expenditure is lower than estimates The estimated total expenditure of Ministries & Departments for 2017-18 was ₹ 21,46,734 crores, but the actual expenditure was marginally lower with ₹ 21,41,973 crores being spent. Theactual Revenue expenditure was more i.e. ₹ 18,78,833 crores when compared to the estimate expenditure of ₹ 18,36,933 crores. However, the actual capital expenditure was lower at ₹ 2,63,139 crores compared to the estimated expenditure of ₹3,09,800 crores. The expenditure on the schemes sponsored by central governmentand the central sector schemes form a major share of the central government’sexpenditure, with the other two major heads being (i) Establishment Expenditureof the Centre (ii) Other Central Sector Expenditure. We have covered in detail the estimates vs actuals for 2017-18 of thecentral government schemes in an earlier explainer article. Let us have a quick look at theestimates and actuals for the other two heads of expenditure. The actual ‘Establishment Expenditure’ of the Centre is higher than theestimated expenditure for the year 2017-18, because the increase in the revenueexpenditure by ₹ 35657 crores than estimated. The establishment expenditure includes salaries, medical expenses, wages, overtimeallowances, foreign travel expenses, domestic travel expenses, office expenses,materials and supplies, publications, advertising and publicity, training,other administrative expenses, POL, cost of ration, clothing and tentage,professional services, rent rates and taxes, royalty, pensionary charges,rewards and minor works, motor vehicles, information technology etc. Even under the “Other Central Sector Expenditure”, the actualexpenditure is higher than the Estimated expenditure for the year 2017-18. Theactual revenue expenditure is in excess of ₹ 10,822 crores than theestimated. However, the actual capital expenditure was only 45% of the estimates.The actual capital spending is ₹ 5,754 crores compared to the estimated expenditure of ₹ 12,904 crores. Theexpenditure items under this head include provisions made for the Centralexpenditure on PSUs, autonomous bodies etc. and other expenditure not coveredin the category of schemes or establishment expenditure. It has to be noted that Capital expenditure relates to either creationof an asset or paying off a debt, whereas revenue expenditure is a currentexpenditure which includes administration costs and other expenditure. Underboth the above mentioned heads, it can be observed that there is an excessamount spent on such revenue expenditure at the cost of lower spending on the allocationfor capital expenditure. The expenditure outlay in the Union Budget is spread across 100Ministries/Departments. In this story, we look at the actual expenditure of fewof the key Ministries/Departments compared to the estimates for 2017-18. Department of Agriculture – Actual expenditure on Centrally sponsored schemes 19% less than the estimates The total estimates of expenditure under “Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare ‘is ₹ 41,855 crores whereasthe actual expenditure for 2017-18 is ₹ 37,396 crores i.e. nearly 10.65 % less than the estimate. The actual spending on Centrally sponsoredschemes is 19% less than the estimated expenditure. Central sponsored schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojna (PMKSY),Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna, National Food Security Mission, National Missionon Horticulture, National Project on Soil Health and Fertility, IntegratedScheme on Agriculture Marketing etc. are few the schemes whose actualexpenditure for 2017-18 was less than the estimates.