COLOMBO -Sri Lanka has submitted a draft vote-on-account or mini budget to Parliament seeking approval to spend Rs 949.76 billion for the four months from August to December 2020.
The mini-budget involves current spending of Rs 613.45 billion and capital spending of Rs 336.3 billion.
The motion also sought approval for earlier allocations made under section 150 of the Constitution.
The Ministry of Finance had earlier prepared mini-budgets under presidential powers after Parliament was dissolved in March and elections were delayed over COVID-19.
The ministry had indicated that the full year deficit would be in the region of Rs 1,341 billion.
The Treasury operations department, which involves debt roll-overs and funding, sought Rs 356.5 billion for current spending and Rs 421.7 billion in capital.
Under Treasury bills ordinance permission was sought for Rs 750 billion.
The motion sought approval to borrow Rs 1,300 billion in domestic and foreign borrowings for the year.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna has an overwhelming majority in the newly elected Parliament.
-economynext.com