Prime Minister and Finance Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will present the budget for 2021 today in Parliament at 1.40 p.m.
Budget 2021 will be presented based on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s ‘Vistas of Prosperity’ Policy Statement targeting people centric development, economic development and welfare for the people.
The Budget Discussion will be held daily from 10.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. and the vote for second reading is scheduled to be held at 5 p.m. on November 21. As per the Appropriation Bill for 2021, the total recurrent expenditure for the financial year 2021 is estimated to be flat in comparison to 2020 at Rs. 2,690 billion, while capital expenditure is estimated at Rs. 2,216 billion, an increase of 20% compared to 2020.
Among the key areas that would be financially strengthened would be defense, education, health and other social security networks in the midst of the COVID-19, strengthening the import substitution industry and the export economy to avoid a balance of payments crisis. “Development of infrastructure facilities, promotion of small and medium scale domestic producers and expansion of their products, and upgrading rural road networks are also among the priorities listed in the budget,” an official from the Ministry of Finance said.
The Appropriation Bill is presented to allocate Rs. 2,678 billion for the service expenditure and according to the Bill, limit on borrowings for the financial year 2021 has been set at Rs. 2,900 billion.
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