The Iranian parliament has approved the general outlines of the national budget bill for Iranian calendar year 1390, which began on March 21, 2011 - MNA reports.
During a Majlis session on Tuesday, the national budget bill was put to a vote and 149 MPs of the 225 MPs who were present voted in favor of it and the generalities of the bill were approved.
The national budget bill envisages about 5.39 quadrillion rials (approximately $513.3 billion) of expenditures for the fiscal year.
On February 20, the administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad submitted the budget bill to the Majlis.
There is a 45 percent increase in the national budget compared to the national budget of the previous Iranian calendar year.
One of the reasons for the rise in this year's national budget is the fact that the government is currently implementing the subsidy reform plan, which was launched in December 2010.
The plan aims to gradually remove all subsidies over a five-year period and instead give families cash payments as compensation.
It eliminates subsidies on gasoline, natural gas, electricity, and food and is considered to be one of the most important economic undertakings in Iran's modern history.