Sitharaman asks ministries to front-load their capex

TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi/ Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday pitched for front loading of capital expenditure, saying it is critical for revitalisting the economy post the coronavirus pandemic.

 During a virtual meeting with senior government officials to discuss the infrastructure roadmap ahead, she also asked ministries to aim to achieve more than their capital expenditure (capex) targets.

The Union Budget 2021-22 provided a capital outlay of Rs.5.54 lakh crore, a sharp increase of 34.5 per cent over the Budget Estimate of 2020-21. However, the efforts from the budgetary side to increase the capex have to be complemented by the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs), she said.

During the meeting, capex plans of ministries and their CPSEs, status of implementation of budget announcements and measures to expedite infrastructure investment were discussed.