Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2011-10-06

Appropriation Bill for the Financial Year 2012

- the Appropriation Bill for the Financial Year 2012 submitted by H.E. the President, in his capacity as the Minister of Finance and Planning, was approved for presentation in Parliament, after publishing it in the Government Gazette. In the preparation of this Bill, H.E. the President and the General Treasury had consulted each line Ministry and other stakeholders, mainly with a view to formulating a realistic budget to divert resources for priority areas identified in the "Mahinda Chinthana" and phased out in the Medium Term Expenditure Frame Work 2012 - 2014. In this process, priority has been given for the completion of ongoing development activities, before allocating resources for new projects. Budget Estimates for 2012 are to be prepared with the aim of containing the budget deficit at 6.2 percent of the Gross Domestic Product in order to ensure that economic development is maintained at 8 percent and the rate of annual inflation at 6 to 7 percent. The total estimated expenditure for 2012 is to be Rs.2220 billion, necessitating an increase in Recurrent Expenditure from Rs.1029 billion in 2011 to Rs.1109 billion in 2012, and the Capital Expenditure from Rs.938 billion to Rs.1111 billion. Public Investment has increased from Rs.453 billion in 2011 to Rs.541 billion in 2012 in order to maintain the momentum in the growth rate of 8 percent.