Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed the Appropriation (No.3) Bill, 2026, authorising the appropriation of money from the Consolidated Fund of India to cover expenditure incurred in excess of the approved allocation for certain services during the financial year that ended on March 31, 2023.

With the Upper House approving the legislation through a voice vote, the Bill was returned to the Lok Sabha, completing the parliamentary process for the Money Bill.

What is the Appropriation (No.3) Bill, 2026?

The Bill seeks Parliament's approval to regularise expenditure that exceeded the amounts originally sanctioned for certain services in the financial year 2022-23. It authorises the withdrawal of funds from the Consolidated Fund of India to meet these excess expenditures.

Replying to the debate on the Bill, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the excess grant relates to expenditure under two accounts that formed part of the Public Accounts Committee's 39th Report, which was presented to the Lok Sabha in April this year.

She said one excess demand of Rs 196.44 crore arose from a court order involving the Railway Ministry.

The second demand relates to Rs 53,871 crore towards debt repayment. Sitharaman said this amount pertains to debt receipts against the issuance of securities and, therefore, does not have any fiscal impact.

With PTI inputs