Comparison of Railway Budget Grants

 Comparison of Railway Budget Grants

Aspect	Railways Internal Circulation	Parliamentary Oversight (C&AG Scrutiny)
Types of Grants	1. Budget Grant (BG) 2. Spending Limit (SL) 3. Revised Grant (RG) 4. Final Grant (FG)	1. Original Grant (O) 2. Supplementary Grant (S) 3. Excess Grant
Purpose	Internal monitoring and control of Railway expenditure	Parliamentary sanction and post-facto legislative accountability
Authority Concerned	Ministry of Railways, Zonal Railways	Parliament of India
Budgeting Stage	Throughout the financial year	During and after Budget session of Parliament
Documentation	Internal budget circulars, Demand Forecasts, Expenditure Registers	Appropriation Bill, Budget Documents presented to Parliament
Audit/Reconciliation Role	Reviewed internally by Railways	C&AG scrutinizes via Appropriation Accounts
Approval Needed From	Railway Board	Parliament of India

Explanation of Each Term

Railways Internal Circulation

BG - Budget Grant: Initial estimate of funds allocated at the start of the financial year.

SL - Spending Limit: The maximum limit up to which the spending can be made under a grant.

RG - Revised Grant: Modified estimate based on mid-year trends and actual expenditure.

FG - Final Grant: Consolidated and actualized allocation after adjustment of estimates and savings.

Parliamentary Classification

O - Original Grant: Sanctioned during the Annual Budget approved by Parliament.

S - Supplementary Grant: Additional funds sought during the year for unanticipated needs.

Excess Grant: Sought after the financial year ends if expenditure exceeds total sanctioned grant.

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Spending limits or Working Budget Grant

 Spending limits or Working Budget Grant

• Limiting the Revenue Grant to certain extent, say 90% or 95% by keeping some amount as Reserve to meet the unforeseen expenditure that may arise during execution of budget, is achieved by fixing SL/WBG.

 

• Example: Budget Grant - Rs.100,  Reserve - Rs. 10 and SL/WBG is Rs. 90

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• Usually this exercise is undertaken  by the Railway Board or General Managers, after distribution of Budget Grant (BG). While distributing BG to the units, it will be made clear that this shall be used only for the purpose of budget reviews and not for spending. 

• After identifying the possible savings in SMH (erstwhile Demand)  and PU to the extent indicated by the Board, the same will immediately be communicated as Spending Limit (SL) /Working Budget Grant (WBG) to the units within which expenditure shall be incurred. 

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• The Objective of keeping such a Reserve is to meet emergency needs and ensure austerity measures in the Railways. 

• Amounts kept in Reserve may be released or distributed to the Spending authorities as part of RG or FG, based on their projections.

• If there is no demand for such a Reserve amount, the same may be surrendered during the Budgetary Reviews.

• Proportionate Budget Allotments (PBAs)  are worked out on both BG and SL/WBG. 

However, Monthly Financial Reviews will be carried out wrt SL/WBG.

• There are no fixed guidelines/instructions to determine the amount to be kept as reserve. Also it is not mandatory for keeping the reserve always.  It is at the discretion of the Railway Board or General Managers at Zonal Level. 

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