India, June 23 -- A mere three months after CM Devendra Fadnavis presented the Rs.7.69 lakh crore budget for 2026-27, the government has tabled supplementary demands of a whopping Rs.97,706 crore or 12.70% of the total budget size. Supplementary demands are made for expenditure that is beyond what is estimated in the annual budget.

Finance department officials admitted that the supplementary demands were not entirely related to unforeseen expenditure (as they should be) while the opposition alleged that the government was using the supplementary demands route to maintain the fiscal deficit within the 3%-of-GDP limit prescribed under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act.

The Fadnavis government has continued the trend of h...