Contingency fund
Emergency money reserve
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Through European Union, Rupee and Welfare spending
European Union
The European Union created a vast contingency fund in 2010 to counteract the Great Recession.
European finance ministers, the European Central Bank (ECB), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) took steps to address the government debt crisis in Europe, which began in Greece, by establishing a joint EU-IMF program to provide access to nearly $1 trillion in loans for the 16 eurozone nations in the event that they faced difficulties in borrowing from world bond markets.
The program aimed to give Greece financial stability to balance its budget, restructure its economy, and avoid borrowing from the open market.
Overall, the initiatives sought to restore confidence in European governments and safeguard the nascent global economic recovery.
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India
National Contingency Fund
Article 267(1) of the Indian Constitution authorised the establishment of a Contingency Fund of India.
Accordingly, in 1950, the Indian Parliament enacted the Contingency Fund of India Act 1950. The Contingency Fund of India exists for disasters and related unforeseen expenditures.
The fund is administered by the Finance Secretary (Department of Economic Affairs) on behalf of the President of India and it can be operated by executive action. In 2005, it was raised from Rs. 50 crore to Rs 500 crore. In 2021, it was proposed to raise the fund to Rs 30,000 crore.
State contingency funds
Similarly, a Contingency Fund for each Indian State is established under Article 267(2) of the Constitution, placing funds at the disposal of the Governor to enable them to make advances to meet urgent unforeseen expenditure, pending authorisation by the State Legislature.
The corpus of the funds varies across states and the quantum is decided by the State legislatures.
Spain
In Spain, the contingency fund is used in economic crisis for public work and similar stimulus activities. There is social security contingencies fund called reserve fund, to pay pensions.
United Kingdom
The Civil Contingencies Fund was created in the United Kingdom in the early 19th century. It is held by the Treasury, and its use is regulated by the Miscellaneous Financial Provisions Act 1946. It may be used for urgent expenditure in anticipation that the money will be approved by Parliament, or for small payments that were not included in the year's budget estimates.
The Contingencies Fund Act 1974 (c. 18) sets the size of the fund as 2% of the amount of the government budget in the preceding year. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic this was temporarily raised to 50% by the Contingencies Fund Act 2020 and later lowered to 12% until April 2022 by the Contingencies Fund Act 2021.
When Parliament votes to approve the urgent expenditure, the money is repaid into the Contingencies Fund. As Parliament is effectively forced to approve actions ex post facto (after they have happened), the Treasury's use of the fund is scrutinised in detail by the Public Accounts Committee.