Home Ministry asks departments to prepare realistic budget estimates for 2026-27, 2027-28

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has directed all its departments to carefully review expenditure trends against budget allocations for 2026-27 to prepare realistic estimates for inclusion in proposals for revised estimates for the current fiscal and budgetary estimates for 2027-28.

In a circular issued to all its departments, the ministry highlighted that all expenditure incurred should remain within practical limits, particularly in view of the fact that the Finance Ministry is expected to issue the budget circular shortly, seeking detailed proposals for revised estimates for the current fiscal (2026-27) and budgetary estimates for 2027-28.

The advice to prepare realistic estimates comes amid concerns raised in the past by the audit authorities as well as the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament that budget estimates and revised estimates are often unrealistic, while supplementary demands obtained from Parliament are not fully utilised.

Other concerns, such as the arbitrary re-appropriation of funds, have also been raised by the PAC, which has led to avoidable and infructuous expenditure.

In light of these concerns, the Home Ministry has advised all concerned departments to prioritise activities and schemes and identify those that may be eliminated, downsized or merged with other schemes and activities.

Past performance should also be taken into account while setting both physical and financial targets, along with any bottlenecks encountered.

For new or recently initiated projects, the anticipated time required to obtain final approval from the competent authority should be factored in. In addition, expected implementation delays, the institutional capacity to execute projects as scheduled, and constraints on expenditure by implementing agencies should also be taken into consideration, the ministry has directed its departments.

They have further been asked to undertake a thorough ground-level assessment to ensure accurate projections in all cases.

During August-September every year, all ministries send their proposals to the Finance Ministry seeking revised budget estimates, based on the expenditure incurred during the first half of the financial year from the funds allocated to them in the Union Budget.