(a) whether the Government has undertaken any steps recently to give a boost to the capital expenditure and infrastructure progress in the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the details of the capital expenditure achievements in this regard in the first 2 quarters i.e. Q1 and Q2 of the current financial year?
THE MINISTER IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SMT NIRMALA SITHARAMAN)
(a) to (c) A statement is laid on the table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *20 RAISED BY SHRI KURUVA GORANTLA MADHAV: SHRI SRIDHAR KOTAGIRI:, HON’BLE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT FOR REPLY ON 29th NOVEMBER, 2021 REGARDING CAPITAL EXPENDITURE AND INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRESS
(a) & (b): To accelerate capital expenditure for creation and upgradation of infrastructure in the economy, Government of India had launched the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) with projected infrastructure investment of Rs. 111 lakh crore during the period 2020-2025 to provide world-class infrastructure across the country, and improve the quality of life for all citizens. NIP was launched with 6,835 projects, which has expanded to over 9,000 projects covering 34 sub-sectors. NIP is expected to improve project preparation, attract investments into infrastructure, and play pivotal role in economic growth.
Union Budget 2021-22 has provided a capital outlay of Rs. 5.54 lakh crore, an increase of 34.5% over Budget Estimate (BE) of FY 2020-21. Over and above this, Government will also be providing more than Rs. 2 lakh crore to States and Autonomous Bodies for their Capital Expenditure.
National Monetization Pipeline (NMP) was also launched on 23.08.2021 to unlock the value of investments in public sector assets by tapping private sector capital and efficiencies for delivering infrastructure services. The monetization proceeds are envisaged to be ploughed back to augment existing/ create greenfield infrastructure to boost the economy.
Gati Shakti (National Master Plan for Infrastructure Development) was launched on 13.10.2021 as a digital platform to bring Ministries/Departments together for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects. It will also facilitate the last mile connectivity of infrastructure and also reduce travel time for people.
Regular review meetings by line Ministries and Cabinet Secretariat have been undertaken to fast-track capital expenditure. Union Finance Minister also took review meetings of major infrastructure Ministries/ Departments on Capital Expenditure plans and suggested measures to expedite infrastructure investment, including front-loading of their capital expenditure.
To step up investment, infrastructure and growth, Union Finance Minister interacted with Chief Ministers and Finance Ministers of States/ Lt Governors of UTs on 15.11.2021. In the meeting, it was discussed that there is a monetizable asset base in states, which can be leveraged to enhance the capital available for new infrastructure creation and other social sector pressing priorities.
(c) Till the end of Q2 (from April to September 2021), of current financial year (CFY), Ministries/ Departments have spent Rs. 2.29 lakh crore, which is 41% of the BE of Rs. 5.54 lakh crore. The actual expenditure in CFY is about 38% higher than the corresponding expenditure in FY 2020-21.
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