Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman speaks in the Lok Sabha during the second part of the Budget session of Parliament on March 13, 2026. Photo: Sansad TV via PTI
Amid the $100-per-barrel oil shock, fears of energy shortage and supply chain disruptions arising out the West Asia conflict, the Centre has allocated ₹57,381 crore for an Economic Stabilisation Fund that would provide it fiscal space to address global headwinds, including “the recent crisis or unanticipated supply chain disruptions”, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in the Lok Sabha. She was replying to the debate on the Second Supplementary Demand for Grants the government placed before Parliament.
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The Lok Sabha on Friday (March 13, 2026) passed the Centre’s demand for a net cash outgo of ₹2.01 lakh crore, including the ₹57,381-crore allocation. Ms. Sitharaman said the Centre would meet its fiscal deficit target for 2025-26 even after taking these fresh allocations into consideration.
The Minister said policy initiatives undertaken post COVID-19 “made sure that the economy recovered well” and helped the government strengthen the macroeconomic framework. This has enabled the country to absorb economic shocks of various nature without deviating from the fiscal consolidation roadmap, she said.
“But I want to highlight the point that the proposed Economic Stabilisation Fund will provide fiscal headroom to allow India to respond to the global headwinds, such as the recent crisis, unanticipated supply chain disruptions, unexpected shocks to sub-sectors in the Indian economy and any other event that may have significant fiscal implications,” Ms. Sitharaman said.
She added that the extra expenditure would not entail the Centre’s fiscal deficit target being missed. In her Budget speech on February 1, Ms. Sitharaman had stated that the government was targeting a fiscal deficit target of 4.4% of India’s Gross Domestic Product.
“I wish to reiterate that with all these extras that we are coming up with, whether it is technical supplementaries or cash supplementaries, I don’t want any Member of Parliament to wonder if I will be able to reach the fiscal deficit number that I have said while placing the Budget,” Ms. Sitharaman said on Friday (March 13, 2026).
“The commitment given to this House, inclusive of the second supplementary demand for grants, will be within the fiscal deficit target that had been presented in this Parliament on February 1, 2026,” she added.
The government sought Lok Sabha’s approval for spending ₹2.81 lakh crore extra in the current fiscal. With additional receipts of ₹80,000 crore estimated for the current fiscal year in the supplementary, the net additional cash spending will be ₹2.01 lakh crore.
Published – March 13, 2026 03:49 pm IST
