The Government will constitute an Expenditure Management Commission (EMC). Announcing this in his maiden Budget speech in Lok Sabha today, the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said that EMC will look into various aspects of expenditure reforms to be undertaken by the Government.

Shri Jaitley said the Government is committed to the principle of ‘Minimum Government Maximum Governance’. To achieve this goal, time has come to review the allocated and operational efficiencies of government expenditure to achieve maximum output.

The Expenditure Management Commission will give its interim report within this financial year. The Finance Minister said he proposed to overhaul the subsidy regime, including food and petroleum subsidies, and make it more targeted while providing full protection to the marginalized, poor and SCs/STs. A new urea policy would also be formulated.

Expenditure Management Commission to review government spending efficiency, recommend targeted subsidy reforms and protection for marginalized groups. The Government will constitute an Expenditure Management Commission to review allocation and operational efficiencies of government spending under the principle of Minimum Government Maximum Governance, with an interim report due within the current financial year; concurrently the Finance Minister proposes overhauling the subsidy regime to make food and petroleum subsidies more targeted while protecting marginalized groups and formulating a new urea policy.