The cabinet has approved the Budget Bill for the 2024 fiscal year, which will now be forwarded to the House of Representatives, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on Tuesday.
The bill's first reading is scheduled for Jan 3-4, he added.
The bill seeks 3.48 trillion baht in funding for fiscal 2024, which began on Oct 1. The bill was not passed in time for the start of the fiscal year due to the transition of governments following the election.
The amount sought represents a 295 billion baht, or 9.3%, increase on the budget sought for the previous fiscal year, the PM said.
Of the 3.48 trillion baht, 2.53 trillion baht will go on the government's fixed annual expenditure. About 118.36 billion baht, or 3.4%, will go on boosting the treasury's reserves, while 715.38 billion baht, or 20.5%, will be earmarked as investment funds.
The rest, Mr Srettha said, will be spent on repaying the government's loans.
The new borrowing ceiling for loans is proposed at 693 billion baht or 3.63% of the total budget, he said.
In this fiscal year, the country's gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to be 19.02 trillion baht, said Mr Srettha.
After its first reading, the bill goes to a committee for further work and will be deliberated further in the Lower House on April 3-4, he said. After that the bill will be forwarded to the Senate and a vote on April 9-10. If it passes, the Secretariat of the Cabinet will send it for royal endorsement on April 17, he said.