Answer: Option D
Answer: (d)
When the Centre does not have the budgetary resources to fund its various schemes/programmes then it asks its agencies to borrow and fund these programmes. For example, for the public distribution scheme, FCI borrows from National Small Savings Fund (NSSF).
Similarly, HUDCO and NHB borrow to fund the affordable scheme of the government, NABARD borrows for irrigation and rural housing. Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) borrows for rural electrification. Ideally, the Centre should borrow for these schemes but it asks its various agencies to take the loan in their name which is then not shown in the Centre’s budget.
These Off-Budget Borrowings (also called extra-budgetary resources) allows the Centre to reduce the immediate impact on the fiscal, as the repayments made by the government are calibrated over many years.
These however add to the overall public debt of Govt. of India. CAG has expressed concern over it and if these off-budget borrowings would have been included in the budget then the Centre’s fiscal deficit would have been more than 5% rather than 3.8% in 2019-20.