FM pushes ministries, PSUs to step up capex
Focusing on the capital expenditure targets to revive the pandemic-hit economy, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday asked key ministries to aim to achieve more than their capex targets. She also emphasised that an enhanced capital expenditure will play a crucial role in the country's economic revival.
According to finance ministry sources, the minister discussed capital expenditure road map of key ministries and the central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) under them, the status of the implementation of budget announcements, and various measures to expedite infrastructure investment were discussed.
"Besides, Sitharaman will also hold a meeting with heads of public and private sector insurers on Saturday for faster settlement of claims under the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) during the pandemic," the sources said.
All the discussions happened while reviewing the capital expenditure performance of the key ministries and their CPSEs on Friday. She met with senior government officials and encouraged the ministries to front-load their capex and ensure the clearance of MSME dues.
According to a statement released by the Ministry of Finance on Friday, Sitharaman said that the budget for the financial year 2021-22 provided a capital outlay of Rs.5.54 lakh crore. This is a sharp 34.5 per cent over the budget estimate of the previous fiscal 2020-21.
This was the review meeting finance minister.