ArmInfo.The expenditures of the state budget of Armenia in the first half of 2021, compared to the same period in 2020, increased by 13.2% or by 100.7 billion drams. This is evidenced by the data of the Ministry of Finance of Armenia.
According to the source, the increase in the expenditure item of the Armenian state treasury is largely due to the increase in costs for servicing the state debt, non-financial assets, benefits and grants.
In general, during the reporting period, the revenues of the state treasury amounted to 790.9 billion drams, expenses - 866.3 billion drams, the deficit - about 75.5 billion drams. Thus, for the reporting period, current expenses amounted to 789.3 billion drams or 89.8% of the planned indicator for the first half of the year. Compared to the same period in 2020, the indicator increased by 9.6% or by 69.4 billion drams. In particular, 93% of current expenditures or 75.6 billion drams were allocated for the remuneration of public sector employees, which is 1.7% or 1.3 billion more than in the same period last year.
69.7 billion drams or 76.5% of the planned indicator for the first half of the year was allocated for the purchase of services and goods, which is 5.5% or 3.6 billion drams more than in the same period of 2020. The financial authorities directed 87.1 billion drams or 96.3% of the planned figure for January-June to service the government debt. During the same period of 2020, 9.1% or 7.3 billion drams less was spent for these purposes.
In the first half of the year, 59 billion drams, or 90.4% of the planned indicator, were allocated from the state budget for subsidies, thus recording a 9.3% (5 billion drams) growth compared to the same indicator for 2020. The growth is largely due to the implementation of business support programs to eliminate the economic consequences of coronavirus infection, subsidize interest rates on agricultural loans, loans for the purchase of agricultural raw materials, as well as a trade and infrastructure development program implemented with the assistance of the WB.
During the reporting period, grants were allocated from the state budget in the amount of 90.1 billion drams, which amounted to 87.2% of the planned indicator, of which 88.5 billion drams were sent to the public sector, 1.6 billion drams - to international organizations. In particular, 32.3 billion drams were allocated to community budgets in the form of subsidies (exceeding last year's figure by 16.7% or 4.6 billion drams).
37.7% of current expenses - over 297.2 billion drams, or 11.3% (30.2 billion drams) more than in the same period of 2020, was allocated for the payment of social benefits and pensions: 172.6 billion drams were allocated for pensions, 124.6 billion drams - on benefits. During the reporting period, an increase was recorded in expenditures on benefits - by 30.3% or by 29 billion drams, which is mainly due to an increase in expenditures due to martial law. On this line, expenditures reached 40.4 billion drams or 93.5% of the planned indicator for the first half of the year.
In terms of non-financial assets, expenditures increased by 68.4% or by 31.3 billion drams - amounting to 77.7 billion drams or 63.7% of the program indicator, which is mainly due to the implementation of programs in the field of transport, public order, security, judicial activities and water supply.
