Rule 51 — GFR 2017
Original Rule Text
Rule 51
(1) Demands for Grants. The estimates
for expenditure for which vote of Lok
Sabha is required shall be in the form of
Demand for Grants.
Rule 51
(2) Generally, one Demand for Grant is
presented in respect of each Ministry or
Department. However, in respect of large
Ministries or Departments, more than one
Demand
may
be
presented.
Each
Demand normally includes provisions
required for a service, i.e. provisions on
account of revenue expenditure, capital
expenditure, grants to the State and
Union Territory Governments and also
Loans and Advances relating to the
service.
Rule 51
(3) The Demand for Grants shall be
presented to Parliament at two levels.
The main Demand for Grants shall be
presented to Parliament by the Ministry of
Finance, Budget Division along with the
Annual Financial Statement while the
Detailed
Demands
for
Grants,
for
consideration by the “Departmentally
Related Standing Committee” (DRSC) of
the Parliament, are laid on the Table of
the Lok Sabha by the concerned
Ministries/ Departments, as per dates
approved from time to time.
What This Means
This rule explains how the Indian government asks Parliament for money to cover its expenses. When a government department needs to spend money, and that spending requires approval from the Lok Sabha (the lower house of Parliament), they don't just ask for a lump sum. Instead, they present their requests in a specific format called "Demands for Grants." Think of these as detailed shopping lists for government spending.
Usually, each Ministry or Department will prepare one "Demand for Grant" covering all the money they need for their operations. However, if a Ministry is very large or has many different functions, they might prepare several separate Demands. Each of these Demands is designed to cover a specific "service" or area of work. This includes money for day-to-day running costs (revenue expenditure), big projects like building infrastructure (capital expenditure), funds given to State and Union Territory governments, and even loans and advances related to that particular service.
The process of getting these Demands approved happens in two stages. First, the Ministry of Finance presents the main, consolidated "Demands for Grants" to Parliament along with the overall budget statement. After this, each individual Ministry or Department then provides much more detailed versions of their "Demands for Grants." These detailed documents are given to special parliamentary committees called "Departmentally Related Standing Committees" (DRSCs) for a thorough review. This two-step process ensures both a broad overview and a detailed scrutiny of how government money will be spent.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Key Points
- 1Government spending requiring Lok Sabha approval must be presented as "Demands for Grants."
- 2Typically, each Ministry or Department submits one Demand, but large ones may submit multiple.
- 3Each Demand covers a specific "service" and includes all types of related expenditure, such as revenue, capital, grants, and loans.
- 4The Ministry of Finance presents the main Demands to Parliament along with the Annual Financial Statement.
- 5Individual Ministries/Departments present detailed Demands to Departmentally Related Standing Committees (DRSCs) for in-depth review.
Practical Example
Imagine the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is preparing its budget for the upcoming financial year. Under Rule 51, they need to present their financial requirements as "Demands for Grants." Given the vast scope of health services, they might decide to present two separate Demands: one for "Public Health and Hospitals" and another for "Family Welfare and Research."
For the "Public Health and Hospitals" Demand, they would include provisions for salaries of doctors and nurses (revenue expenditure), funds for constructing new district hospitals (capital expenditure of, say, ₹500 crores), grants to state governments for implementing national health programs like the Ayushman Bharat scheme (e.g., ₹2000 crores), and even small loans for setting up primary health centers in remote areas. Once these Demands are finalized, the Ministry of Finance would include the overall figures in the main budget presented to Parliament. Subsequently, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare would then lay out the highly detailed breakdown of these two Demands before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare for their detailed examination and recommendations.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Frequently Asked Questions
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This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.