The government has pegged the annual play outlay for 2008-09 at Rs 3.76 lakh crore, with social sector getting a maximum allocation of Rs 95,919 crore.

The central plan outlay has been increased from Rs 2.92 lakh crore in revised estimates  for the current fiscal to Rs 3.76 lakh crore in 2008-09, representing an increase of about 29 per cent.

The allocation for social services has been stepped up from Rs 75,162 crore (RE 2007-08) to Rs 95,919 crore, showing a growth of about 28 per cent.

Among other important sectors, the outlay for energy sector has been raised from Rs 72,230 crore to Rs 93,815 crore, while for the transport sector it has been increased from Rs 84,177 crore from Rs 68,930 crore.

For rural development, the outlay has been raised to Rs 23,831 crore from Rs 21,147 crore, while for the industry and minerals segment it would be Rs 28,836 crore, up from Rs 17,953 crore.

The budgetary support for the central plan outlay has been fixed at Rs 1.80 lakh crore, up from Rs 1.49 crore in the revised estimates.

The internal and external budgetary resources (IEBR) target for 2008-09 has been significantly stepped to Rs 2.00 lakh crore from Rs 1.44 lakh crore, putting much greater onus on public sector enterprises to fund the central plan.

The central plan outlay for current fiscal, will fall short of the budget estimates by around Rs 28,000 crore.

According to the budget documents, the central plan outlay in RE has been estimated at Rs 2.92 lakh crore, much below the budget estimate of Rs 3.20 lakh crore.

Among the ministries, maximum amount of Rs 49,400 crore has been allocated for the Rural Development Ministry, reflecting the priority of the government.

The plan outlay for Ministry of Rural Development has been increased from Rs 41,860 crore (RE) to Rs 49,400 crore for 2008-08.

The allocation for the Rural Development Ministry include a provision of Rs 16,000 crore (up from Rs 12,000 crore in 2007-08 towards the National Employment Guarantee Scheme.

The outlay for the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has been increased to Rs 46,565 crore from Rs 35,725 crore.

The ministry will have to raise resources itself through IEBR, as the budgetary support will only be Rs 25 crore.

The outlay for the Ministry of Power has been raised to Rs 40,460 crore from Rs 30,690 crore in the revised estimates for 2007-08.

Among the welfare ministries, the allocation for Ministry of Health has been raised to Rs 16,534 crore from Rs 13,390 crore.

The outlay for the Civil Aviation Minister, however, has been reduced to Rs 10,031 crore from Rs 11,239 crore in the revised estimates.