Demands for grants

Polity & Governance glossary

Also called: Article 113 · Topic: Parliamentary Procedure, Committees and Privileges · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

A demand for grants is a request by the government to the Lok Sabha for money for one item of voted expenditure (spending that Parliament must vote on). There is usually one demand for each ministry or department, and it can be made only on the President's recommendation (Article 113).

Demands for grants are the main way the Lok Sabha controls government spending. The House can approve, reduce or refuse what the government asks for. A cut motion passed on a demand can bring down the government.

Explanation

How a demand for grants works

  • Charged expenditure (money Parliament does not vote on, such as the salaries of the President and judges, and debt payments) can be discussed but not voted on (Art. 113(1)).
  • Voted expenditure (all other spending) goes to the Lok Sabha as demands for grants (Art. 113(2)).
  • There is usually one demand for each ministry or department.
  • A demand can be made only on the President's recommendation (Art. 113(3)). In practice, this means only the government can ask for money.

Where it fits in the budget process (six stages)

  1. Presentation: the Finance Minister presents the annual financial statement, or "budget" (Art. 112). This happens in both Houses. There is no vote.
  2. General discussion: both Houses debate the budget as a whole. There is no vote.
  3. Committee scrutiny: the DRSCs (departmentally related standing committees) study the demands during a recess of about 3–4 weeks. Each DRSC is a permanent committee with members from both Houses, and each covers a few ministries. They have done this since 1993. Ministers do not sit on them. The DRSCs only write reports. They do not vote.
  4. Voting on demands: the Lok Sabha alone votes on each demand (Art. 113(2)). A simple majority of members present and voting decides.
  5. Appropriation Bill (Art. 114): this law allows money to be drawn from the Consolidated Fund. It is passed by both Houses as a money bill (a bill only about taxes, government borrowing or spending).
  6. Finance Bill: this gives effect to the tax proposals. It is also passed as a money bill.

What the Lok Sabha can and cannot do

  • On each demand, the Lok Sabha may:
  • approve it,
  • reduce it, or

  • refuse it.

  • It cannot increase a demand or add a new purpose. Only the government can propose new spending.

  • The Rajya Sabha can discuss demands but cannot vote on them.
  • Cut motions (a motion asking the House to reduce a demand) are moved at this stage:
  • Policy cut motion: reduces the demand to Re 1. It shows that the member disapproves of the policy behind the demand.
  • Economy cut motion: reduces the demand by a stated amount. It points to a possible saving.

  • Token cut motion: reduces the demand by ₹100. It raises a specific grievance.

  • If a cut motion is passed, the government has lost on money matters.

  • This is treated as a loss of the House's confidence.
  • The government is expected to resign. This follows from collective responsibility (the whole Council of Ministers answers to the Lok Sabha together).

The guillotine: the main limit in practice

  • Guillotine: on the last day set aside for demands, the Speaker puts all remaining demands to vote together, without discussion.
  • As a result, only a few ministries' demands are debated. Most demands pass without debate.

In the Constitution and practice

  • Constitutional basis:
  • Art. 112: annual financial statement.
  • Art. 113: charged expenditure is not voted (113(1)). Voted expenditure goes to the Lok Sabha as demands for grants (113(2)). Demands need the President's recommendation (113(3)).
  • Art. 114: Appropriation Bill. No amendment may change the amount or purpose of a grant (114(2)). No money can be drawn from the Consolidated Fund until the bill becomes law (114(3)).
  • Art. 115: supplementary, additional and excess grants. These follow the same procedure as demands for grants (Art. 115(2)).

  • Art. 116: vote on account, vote of credit and exceptional grant.

  • Rules of Procedure of the Lok Sabha govern cut motions, the guillotine and token grants.

  • How it has worked in practice:
  • 2004-05 onwards: on average, only 13% of voted demands were discussed (not counting railways) [2].
  • 2019 budget session: about 20% of voted demands were discussed (road transport, agriculture, rural development, youth affairs and sports, and railways). The rest were guillotined [2].
  • 2019–2023 (17th Lok Sabha): on average, about 80% of the budget was voted without discussion [1].
  • 2023: the entire budget was passed without discussion [1].
  • The 17th Lok Sabha spent an average of 35 hours a year on the budget, and this time has been falling [1].
  • In the 17th Lok Sabha, 31% of DRSC reports were on demands for grants. Between 2020 and 2023, only 32% of these reports were tabled before the budget was passed [1].
  • April 2010: the UPA government survived cut motions moved by the Opposition over fuel price rises.

Don't confuse with

  • Appropriation Bill: a demand for grants is voted only by the Lok Sabha. The Appropriation Bill (Art. 114) is a money bill passed by both Houses, and it also covers charged expenditure.
  • Charged expenditure: it is discussed but never voted, so it is not part of any demand for grants (Art. 113(1)).
  • Token grant vs token cut motion: a token grant is Re 1 voted for a new service paid for from savings under another head (re-appropriation). A token cut motion reduces a demand by ₹100 to raise a grievance. A policy cut motion reduces a demand to Re 1.
  • Supplementary or excess grant: these are extra demands made after the main budget (Art. 115). An excess grant is voted only after the year ends and only after PAC (Public Accounts Committee) approval.

Prelims Hooks

  • Art. 113(2): only the Lok Sabha votes on demands for grants. The Rajya Sabha can only discuss them.
  • The Lok Sabha can approve, reduce or refuse a demand but cannot increase it. A demand needs the President's recommendation (Art. 113(3)).
  • Policy cut = Re 1; economy cut = a stated amount; token cut = ₹100. Trap: a token grant is also Re 1, but it is a grant, not a cut motion.
  • Guillotine: all remaining demands are put to vote together, without discussion, on the last allotted day. In 2023, the entire budget passed without discussion [1].
  • DRSCs have examined demands for grants since 1993, during a recess of about 3–4 weeks. Ministers are not members.
  • Art. 115(2): supplementary, additional and excess grants follow the same procedure as demands for grants.

Mains Points

  • The guillotine weakens Parliament's control over money.
  • About 80% of the budget passed without debate in 2019–2023, and none of it was debated in 2023 [1].
  • So most ministries' spending is never questioned on the floor of the House.

  • Possible reforms: more days for demands, taking up a different set of ministries each year, and a separate budget session calendar.

  • Committee scrutiny often comes too late.

  • Only 32% of DRSC reports on demands were tabled before the budget was passed in 2020–2023 [1].

  • Making these reports due before voting would let members use them in the debate.

  • Cut motions keep the government accountable but rarely succeed.

  • With a majority government, they mostly serve to raise issues, as with the April 2010 fuel price cut motions against the UPA.
  • Critics argue that not every cut motion should count as a confidence vote. Members could then vote more freely on spending without bringing down the government.

Related concepts

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Sources

  1. 1Functioning of the 17th Lok Sabha: Vital Stats (PRS)prsindia.org · tier 1
  2. 2Vital Stats: Budget Session 2019, 17th Lok Sabha (PRS)prsindia.org · tier 1