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    FM pushes CPSEs to achieve capex targets

    Synopsis

    The minister asked the secretaries and the CRB to closely monitor the CPSEs’ performance and to chalk out a plan to ensure they spent at least 50% of their capital outlay by the second quarter of FY21.

    SitharamanANI
    The total capex target for the seven CPSEs in question stood at Rs 24,663 crore for the current fiscal.
    Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman pushed Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) to perform better to achieve their capital expenditure (capex) targets for the fiscal as this would provide a substantial impetus to economic recovery.

    Sitharaman reviewed the performance of CPSEs in a virtual meeting with the secretaries of the ministries of civil aviation, steel and the chairman of the railway board (CRB), along with the heads of seven CPSEs belonging to these ministries, on Thursday.

    The minister asked the secretaries and the CRB to closely monitor the CPSEs’ performance and to chalk out a plan to ensure they spent at least 50% of their capital outlay by the second quarter of FY21.

    This was the second meeting since July 7, in an ongoing series of meetings the minister will hold with various stakeholders of the economy to accelerate growth in the background of the pandemic.

    The total capex target for the seven CPSEs in question stood at Rs 24,663 crore for the current fiscal. By the first quarter, these CPSEs achieved 14% of the target or Rs 3,557 crore, the release said.

    In the last fiscal, they achieved 85% or Rs 25,974 crore of the year’s target capex of Rs 30,420 crore. The corresponding Q1 achievement was at a similar level of 13% or Rs 3,878 crore, it said.

    The government has chosen to focus on infrastructure spending in a big way to boost growth. So much so that it was open to further borrowing to augment expenditure in the sector, according to Tarun Bajaj, secretary, department of economic affairs (DEA).

    “I have personally spoken to the large infrastructure spending departments of the country and I have assured them that even if I have to borrow a little more I'll do that but you should actually achieve your targets for infrastructure spends in the current year,” Bajaj said, during a virtual conference on Thursday.

    “With little private investment coming into the whole economy, I feel this is one area we need to keep emphasising on. So we are working with these major departments, railways, roads, power in doing this,” he added.

    Expressing the importance of achieving targets, the minister directed the CPSEs to immediately flag any unresolved issues with the secretaries of the DEA, public enterprises or investment and public asset management for a speedy resolution.

    Sitharaman also said that such review meetings on capex performance of CPSEs would take place on a monthly basis from now on.



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    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the Economic Times ePaper Online.and Sensex Today.

    Top Trending Stocks: SBI Share Price, Axis Bank Share Price, HDFC Bank Share Price, Infosys Share Price, Wipro Share Price, NTPC Share Price

    ...more
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