Vote on Account
Context:
- The Union Budget for FY25 is presented by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today.
- Since it is the election year the budget is going to be the vote on account.
About Vote on Account:
- Vote on account is the process where an outgoing government seeks the permission from the Parliament to withdraw funds from the Consolidated Fund of India.
- The outgoing government then spend money on expenditures and crucial government schemes for a few months until a new government is formed after the elections.
- Under Article 116 of the Indian Constitution, vote on account is a grant in advance for the Central government to meet short-term expenditure generally lasting for a few months.
What is Consolidated Fund of India?
- Under Article 266 of the Indian Constitution the Consolidated Fund of India is defined as the fund in which is where all the revenue of the central government, be it from taxes, funds raised by loans and interest on loans, and a portion of taxes from states, is parked.
- It also states that no money from the Consolidated Fund may be withdrawn except under an appropriation undertaken by law.
- For the same the Centre passes an appropriation bill during the Union Budget.
