Question

By ‘charged’ expenditure is meant___
A) Expenditure from the consolidated fund of India which is non-votable
B) Expenditure incurred for which payment is pending
C) Expenditure that the President can incur without the Parliament’s approval
D) The sum required to meet all expenditure proposed to be made from the Consolidated Fund of India

Answer 1

Hint:
The Consolidated fund is a term used to describe the main bank account of the Indian government. It is derived from the Westminster system.

Complete step by step solution:
Charged Expenditure is the expenditure from the consolidated fund of India which is non-votable. In India, the government cannot spend any amount of money from the Consolidated Fund unless and until the expenditure is voted in the Lower House of the Parliament or in the State Assemblies. But according to Article 112(3) and Article 202 (3) of the Indian Constitution, there are some charged expenditures which do not require a vote and are charged from the consolidated fund. These exceptional expenditures are:
1) Salary, pension and allowances for the President as well as Governors of States, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of People, the Comptroller General of India and all Judges of Supreme and High courts in India.
2) Debt charges of Government of India
This means that charged expenditures have to be paid in any case, whether the budget is passed or not passed.

Note:
The budget is a document which shows estimated receipts and expenditure of the upcoming Financial Year. Once the Budget is presented to the Parliament, the Government needs approval to draw even one rupee from the Consolidated Fund of India. Hence, the budget proposals must be passed by the Parliament.