FM asks transport, petroleum and steel ministries to front load Capex spending

New Delhi: To push investment in infrastructure projects, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday reviewed the progress of capital expenditure (Capex) by the petroleum and steel ministries and asked them to front-load their spending.

In continuance to the drive towards accelerated capital spending and timely infrastructure development, she chaired review meetings with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (PNG) and Ministry of Steel.

Noting the good progress of Capex in the three ministries, the finance minister suggested front-loading of Capex in the third quarter of FY22 and in the first half of FY23, an official statement said.

Sitharaman said infrastructure projects are a priority for the government, and to achieve the intended vision of the Capex stimulus given in the Union Budget -- a 34.5 per cent rise over the last year, it is essential that physical and financial projects targets are expended in the early quarters of the financial year.

Union Budget for 2021-22 has provided a capital outlay of Rs 5.54 lakh crore, an increase of 34.5 per cent over the Budget Estimate of 2020-21.

"During the meeting, Capital Expenditure (Capex) plans of Ministries and their CPSEs for Q3 and Q4, Capex achievements of Q1 and Q2, expenditure incurred on National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP), projects undertaken through PPP, estimation of funds to be raised by asset monetization and Convergence under National Master Plan (Gati Shakti) were discussed," the statement said.

In the review with the MoRTH, Sitharaman suggested that it may shift from quarterly to monthly reviews of specific projects to ensure timely completion of projects.