India's fiscal deficit will remain in revised estimates for FY26, says Finance Minister Sitharaman

India's fiscal deficit will remain in the revised estimates for FY26, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told Lok Sabha during the Budget Session of Parliament today, according to a PTI report.

“The Economic Stabilisation Fund will give fiscal headroom to allow India to respond to global headwinds,” Sitharaman told Lok Sabha while addressing the Parliament's Budget Session on 13 March, it added.

On the liquified petroleum gas (LPG) and liquified natural gas (LNG) shortage in the country due to the war in West Asia, for which states have put forth supplementary demand for grants, the finance minister added: “There will be no shortage of fertilisers for farmers, adequate provision has been made.”

The List of Business showed that the finance minister is lookinh

The Bill seeks to authorise the payment and appropriation of certain further sums from the Consolidated Fund of India for the services of the financial year 2025-26. The Finance Minister will seek the leave of the House to introduce the Bill and subsequently move that it be taken into consideration and passed, subject to the voting of the Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2025-26.

The House will also take up further discussion and voting on the Supplementary Demands for Grants (Second Batch) for 2025-26. As part of the Union Budget process, the Lok Sabha is scheduled to hold discussion and voting on the Demand for Grants under the control of the Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare for the financial year 2026-27.

Meanwhile, several ministers will lay official papers on the Table of the House. These include External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Prataprao Jadhav, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Anupriya Patel and Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth.

Minister of State Anupriya Patel is scheduled to make a statement correcting an earlier reply given in the House regarding GST for the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination. Further, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal will make a statement outlining the government's legislative business for the week commencing March 16.

Later in the day, the Lok Sabha will take up Private Members' Business, where several MPs are expected to introduce legislative proposals, including Bills on minimum support price guarantee for farmers, prevention of mob lynching, welfare of fishermen, regulation of tour operators, rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits, and reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the private sector.

The parliamentary proceedings come amid protests by the INDIA bloc leaders led by Rahul Gandhi over reports of a nationwide LPG shortage linked to the escalating conflict in West Asia, with the Opposition demanding a discussion on the issue in Parliament.

The second phase of the Budget session is scheduled to go up to April 2, during which essential legislative business and the Union Budget 2026-27 are expected to be addressed primarily. The session, which began on January 28 with the President's address to a joint sitting of the two Houses, comprises 30 sittings over 65 days up until April 2.

(With inputs from Agencies)