New Delhi, Dec. 10: The finance ministry today sought parliamentary approval for gross additional spending of Rs 7,660.21 crore as part of the second batch of supplementary demands for grants for 2003-04.

Almost 30 per cent of this amount at Rs 2,300 crore is being sought to make good losses run up by state-owned telecom major BSNL in providing rural telephone lines. Of the total funds sought, “the proposals involving net cash outgo aggregate to Rs 4,888 crore and gross additional expenditure matched by savings of ministries and departments or by enhanced receipts/recoveries aggregates to Rs 2,772 crore,” a government statement said.

The other major heads of additional expenditure included Rs 1,579.75 crore for meeting additional requirement of Rs 119.75 crore under special component of Sampoorna Gramin Rozgar Yojana and Rs 380 crore for the foodgrain component of the scheme.