Total budget raises to MVR 55 billion with addition of supplementary budget

The Ministry of Finance announced today that the budget deficit is projected to widen to MVR 18.4 billion, reflecting an increase of MVR 5.1 billion in this year's budget.

The total budget will amount to MVR 55 billion, up from the initial allocation of MVR 49.5 billion.

Previously, the deficit was forecasted at MVR 16.3 billion. As a result of this widening deficit, government debt is expected to reach 118 percent of GDP by the end of the year.

Approximately 70 percent of this year's budget will be allocated to recurrent expenditures, with the total recurrent expenditure rising to MVR 36.4 billion following the supplementary budget. Meanwhile, capital expenditure on projects will increase from MVR 15 billion to MVR 19 billion.

Specifically, land reclamation and construction expenses are set to rise from MVR 9 billion to MVR 11 billion. The issuance of student loans will also see an increase to MVR 1 billion, while expenditures on state-owned companies will grow to MVR 2.1 billion.

The supplementary budget includes plans to source MVR 1.4 billion in foreign loan assistance, with an additional MVR 3 billion anticipated from the domestic market. This will bring total budget financing to MVR 19 billion.

Some important components of the Supplementary Budget

- Total Budget: MVR billion

- Revenue: MVR 36.4 billion

- Recurrent Expenditure: MVR 36.3 billion

- Capital Expenditure: MVR 19 billion

- Budget Financing: MVR 19 billion

- Deficit: MVR 18.4 billion