New Delhi, March 14 -- The government sought Rs.57,381.84 crore for the Economic Stablisation Fund amid global uncertainties because of the war in West Asia, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said, reiterating that the Rs.2.01 lakh crore net supplementary demand for grants in FY26 is well within the stipulated fiscal deficit target. "The proposed Economic Stablisation Fund will provide fiscal headroom to allow India to respond to the global headwinds," she told the Lok Sabha. Replying to the debate on the second batch of supplementary demands for grants in the House, she said the recent crisis is leading to unanticipated supply chain disruptions and "unexpected shocks" to some sectors of the Indian economy. The finance minister sought approval of the Parliament for expenditure requirements related to 61 grants, involving a gross expenditure of about Rs.2.81 lakh crore, and a net cash outgo of Rs.2.01 lakh crore. "I wish to reiterate that, commitments which have been given in this House, inclusive of the second supplementary demand for grants, will be within the fiscal deficit target, which has been presented in this Parliament on February 1, 2026," she said. Union budget presented on February 1 this year stipulated India's fiscal deficit at 4.4% of GDP in the revised estimate (RE) for 2025-26, and continuing on the path of fiscal consolidation, set 4.3% as the fiscal deficit target for 2026-27 (BE). The total supplementary demand for grants, combining both the first and the second supplementary demands, comes to Rs 4.13 lakh crore. However, out of this amount, Rs 1.71 lakh crore is technical supplementary. The technical supplementary requirements are mainly met by utilising savings from one section of a grant to another section within the same grant, or by using additional receipts and recoveries within that grant. In December 2025, the government had sought permission to spend an additional Rs 1.32 lakh crore through the first batch of supplementary demands for grants for 2025-26 with net cash outgo of about Rs 41,455 crore. The second supplementary provided additional resources for crucial sectors such as defense, healthcare for ex-servicemen, local bodies, fertilizer sector, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), food security for the poor under Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana and the Viksit Bharat- Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission-Gramin (VB-G RAM G), the revised version of MGNREGA. As the members belonging to opposition parties shouted slogans continuously during Sitharaman's speech, she said: "The opposition simply doesn't care. But when they come again and stand here, they ask -- What did you give for MGNREGA? This government has reduced the funds for MGNREGA." "When I am answering, when I am giving provisions in the budget, they are not listening. And on top of that, they stand here shamelessly and try to suppress my voice. I strongly condemn their behavior," she added. "When we brought the VB-G RAM G Bill, at that time Rs 95,000 crore was allocated. It is in the budget. After the Finance Bill is passed, from 1st April there will be provision of Rs 95,000 crore under the same. But apart from that, many states have pending bills. They are raising this point and asking what will happen to their old bills once it comes into effect. For those old pending bills, Rs 30,000 crore has been provided in this Supplementary Demand for Grants. This will clear the MGNREGA dues up to 31st March," she said. After debate that involved participation of 33 members, the Lok Sabha passed the supplementary demands for grants - second batch for 2025-26 on Friday. Replying to Samajwadi Party's leader Chaudhary Ram Shiromani Verma's remarks through a couplet that the Modi government made false promises, Sitharaman said, "I want to ask: when budgets and supplementary budgets were presented during the Samajwadi Party's tenure, were those false promises too? Perhaps that was the Samajwadi Party's experience between 2012 and 2017. Our promises are not false. We have delivered work on the ground and fulfilled our commitments through the budget." "I want to point out that tap water is now reaching 13 crore households. Is that a false promise? Under the Swachh Bharat Mission, more than 12 crore toilets have been built. Coverage has risen from 39% to nearly universal coverage today. Is that a false promise? We have turned these commitments into reality. Under rural and urban housing schemes, 4 crore homes have been built. Can a false promise build homes? We deliver results," she said. It was also said that GDP does not change the fate of farmers, she said. "Absolutely, GDP alone does not do that. But when GDP rises, our fiscal capacity increases. And when fiscal capacity increases, we are able to reach farmers and deliver support to the homes of the underprivileged. Through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), Rs 43.45 lakh crore has been transferred directly to farmers and other citizens. You may recall that earlier, out of every rupee sent, only 15 paise used to reach the beneficiary. Now, the full Rs 43.45 lakh crore has reached people-100% of it," she added....