Which one among the following expenditures shall not be charged on the Consolidated Fund of India ?

Under Article 112(3) of the Constitution of India, specific expenditures are 'charged' upon the Consolidated Fund of India, meaning they are non-votable by Parliament [3]. These include the emoluments and allowances of the President [1], debt charges for which the Government of India is liable (including interest, sinking fund, and redemption charges), and any sum required to satisfy a judgment, decree, or award of any court or arbitral tribunal. While expenditure for natural calamities is indeed met from the Consolidated Fund of India, it is categorized as 'voted' expenditure rather than 'charged' expenditure. Such emergency funding often involves the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) or supplementary grants, which require parliamentary approval and voting, unlike the protected status of constitutional salaries and sovereign debt obligations [2]. Therefore, option 4 is the correct answer as it does not fall under the 'charged' category.

Sources

1. [1] Laxmikanth, M. Indian Polity. 7th ed., McGraw Hill. > Chapter 23: Parliament > Charged Expenditure > p. 252
2. [3] Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.) > Chapter 23: Parliament > Charged Expenditure > p. 252
3. [2] Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.) > Chapter 92: World Constitutions > 774 ,r(i Indian Polity > p. 772