Appropriation Bill presented to Parliament

By Ashwin Hemmathagama

Our Lobby Correspondent

The Appropriation Bill for 2013 amounting to US$ 19.5 billion was presented to the Parliament yesterday with the total maximum borrowings increased by 12.6 per cent last year to Rs. 1.3 trillion.

Among the key provisions, the Defence and Urban Development is allocated Rs. 289.5 billion, which is an increase of 25.9 per cent, compared Rs. 229.9 billion allocated last year.

Apart from Defence and Urban Development, allocations for education have also increased to 37.9 billion, which is an increase of Rs. 3.43 billion compared to last year followed by Ministry of Higher Education getting an allocation of Rs. 27.9 billion, which is an increase of Rs.4.1 billion compared to 2012.

Budget proposal (second reading) will be presented to the Parliament on 8 November.