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  • Q. Which of the following is/are included in the capital budget of the Government of India?

Q. Which of the following is/are included in the capital budget of the Government of India?

1. Expenditure on acquisition of assets like roads, buildings, machinery, etc.

2. Loans received from foreign governments

3. Loans and advances granted to the States and Union Territories

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: d

Explanation:

There is a constitutional requirement in India (Article 112) to present before the Parliament a statement of estimated receipts and expenditures of the government in respect of every financial year which runs from 1 April to 31 March. This ‘Annual Financial Statement’ constitutes the main budget document of the government. 

Although the budget document relates to the receipts and expenditure of the government for a particular financial year, the impact of it will be there in subsequent years.

There is a need therefore to have two accounts- those that relate to the current financial year only are included in the revenue account (also called revenue budget) and those that concern the assets and liabilities of the government into the capital account (also called capital budget). 

Revenue Receipts: Revenue receipts are those receipts that do not lead to a claim on the government. They are therefore termed non-redeemable. They are divided into tax and non-tax revenues. Tax revenues, an important component of revenue receipts, have for long been divided into direct taxes (personal income tax) and firms (corporation tax), and indirect taxes like excise taxes (duties levied on goods produced within the country), customs duties (taxes imposed on goods imported into and exported out of India) and service tax. Other direct taxes like wealth tax, gift tax and estate duty (now abolished) have never brought in large amount of revenue and thus have been referred to as ‘paper taxes’. 

Non-tax revenue of the central government mainly consists of interest receipts on account of loans by the central government, dividends and profits on investments made by the government, fees and other receipts for services rendered by the government. Cash grants-in-aid from foreign countries and international organisations are also included

Capital Receipts: The government also receives money by way of loans or from the sale of its assets. Loans will have to be returned to the agencies from which they have been borrowed. Thus they create liability. The sale of government assets, like the sale of shares in Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), which is referred to as PSU disinvestment, reduces the total amount of financial assets of the government. All those receipts of the government which create liability or reduce financial assets are termed as capital receipts. When government takes fresh loans it will mean that in future these loans will have to be returned and interest will have to be paid on these loans. Similarly, when government sells an asset, then it means that in future its earnings from that asset, will disappear. Thus, these receipts can be debt creating or non-debt creating.

Revenue Expenditure : Revenue Expenditure is expenditure incurred for purposes other than the creation of physical or financial assets of the central government. It relates to those expenses incurred for the normal functioning of the government departments and various services, interest payments on debt incurred by the government, and grants given to state governments and other parties (even though some of the grants may be meant for creation of assets).

Capital Expenditure : There are expenditures of the government which result in creation of physical or financial assets or reduction in financial liabilities. This includes expenditure on the acquisition of land, building, machinery, equipment, investment in shares, and loans and advances by the central government to state and union territory governments, PSUs and other parties. 

Hence 1, 2 and 3 are correct

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