Amidst calls for big push, government spending up just 11% in April-July from last year

Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman with Directors and Deputy Secretaries of Department of Expenditure, in New Delhi Wednesday. (ANI)

WHILE THE government has announced a Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package to counter the economic impact of Covid-19, official data shows that the Centre’s total expenditure in April-July increased by about Rs 1.07 lakh crore, or about 11.3 per cent — up from Rs 9.47 lakh crore in April-July last year to Rs 10.54 lakh crore this year. Much of this expenditure was on revenue account like payment of salaries and other regular expenses.

In the wake of…