Projected 2015 state budget of MVR 24 billion submitted to parliament

The government has submitted the projected state budget for 2015, worth MVR 24,341,906,072, to the parliament.

Presenting the budget at the parliament sitting this morning, Minister of Finance and Treasury Abdulla Jihad said that 65 percent of the budget, or MVR 15.8 billion, has been allocated for recurrent expenses.

The ministry has estimated that 26 percent of the budget would be spent on salaries and allowances, 13 percent would be spent on social security and welfare, and 8 percent would be spent on operations.

Jihad said that a large portion of the capital expenditure would be spent next year, on repaying loans taken for Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) projects.

The total estimated government income and free financial aid for 2015 is MVR 21.5 billion. This is made up of MVR 13 billion as tax revenue, MVR 6.8 billion as non-tax revenue, and MVR 1.7 billion as free financial aid.

Jihad noted the vulnerable financial situation of the country, and said that the state debt would reach MVR 31 billion by the end of 2015.