New Delhi, Mar 12 (PTI) BJP MP Jagdambika Pal on Thursday said the Modi government has shown farsightedness in proposing Rs 1 lakh crore Economic Stabilisation Fund, which will act as a shield against future shocks.

Participating in a discussion on the second batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2025-26 in the Lok Sabha, Pal said the government has also earmarked additional expenditures for food and fertiliser subsidies to take care of the needs of farmers and the poor.

Through the second batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants, the government is seeking Parliament's nod for additional spending of net Rs 2.01 lakh crore in the current fiscal.

The major additional spending is towards setting up of an Economic Stabilisation Fund of Rs 1 lakh crore. Also, Parliament's nod has been sought for an extra spending of Rs 19,230 crore towards fertilisers subsidy and Rs 23,641 crore for subsidies under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).

Other major expenditure heads include Rs 41,822 crore for the defence ministry.

Pal said the Modi government has propelled India from a "fragile economy" in 2013 to the world's "fifth largest economy". "We are on course to become the third-largest by 2027," he said.

The BJP member further said that at a time when geopolitical and West Asia crises are resulting in supply chain disruptions and higher oil prices, the government is taking steps to shield the Indian economy from such shocks.

"The proposed Economic Stabilisation Fund shows the farsightedness of the Modi government. It will be a corpus to be used in times of crisis," Pal said.

Pal recounted the economic achievements in the 11 years of the Modi government, citing high forex reserves and foreign direct investments.

As opposition benches sought to disrupt Pal's speech in the House, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said when a country faces challenge the entire country should come together to deal with it.

"Today the world is facing a big challenge and everyone should come together to solve this challenge. This kind of politics should not happen," he said.

Earlier, when the House took up discussion on the Supplementary Demands for Grants, N K Premachandran (RSP) objected to it saying the government has not submitted a detailed Demands for Grants circulated in the House.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the House lost 3 days in discussing the Motion.

"Today it is already March 12 and we have to pass the Supplementary Demands for Grants because the money has to be spent by March 31, 2026. So, because of the urgency, the business (Supplementary) is listed. Since the House has stabilised today, we have taken this up," Rijiju said.

Participating in the discussion, Shafi Parambil (INC) said as per reports lawyers' canteen at the Delhi High Court has temporarily stopped serving main course menu due to lack of cooking gas cylinder shortage.

Stating that the growing panic surrounding LPG shortage is disturbing, Parambil said "the shortage of LPG supply, the way the government has dealt with the war crisis is becoming a burden on us. The government is creating two crises -- one the surrender crisis and second the cylinder crisis".

He also asked the government to bring back the MGNREGA scheme to boost rural income.

"The government claims that the economy is doing good, but the reality is different. The government must open its eyes to the problems faced by people," Parambil said, adding the Indian rupee is the worst performing currency in Asia. PTI JD ANU

Economic Stabilisation Fund seeks parliamentary approval as a fiscal reserve to shield the economy against future shocks. The government has tabled a second batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2025-26 requesting parliamentary approval to create an Economic Stabilisation Fund as a reserve for future shocks and to provide additional allocations for fertiliser and food subsidies and defence expenditure, with debate reflecting both support for fiscal preparedness and objections on transparency and social impact.