The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) on Thursday passed the fiscal 2016 budget in its final reading, with 2.72 trillion baht in total and a deficit of 390 billion baht.
The assembly passed it with 184 votes and four abstentions after four hours of deliberation.
Deputy Finance Minister Wisudhi Srisuphan said that the overall budget for government agencies had been reduced by 20.58 billion baht and the saved amount went to the government's contingency fund and could help support the implementation of 20-year national strategies.
As a result, the contingency fund increased to 422.72 billion baht.
Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said it was the second budget bill for the NLA to consider and the assembly was likely to consider the budget bill for the next fiscal year as well.
The 2016 budget was 5.6% higher than the 2.57-trillion-baht 2015 budget which saw a deficit at 250 billion baht.