FM Nirmala Sitharaman asks civil aviation ministry, DoT to expedite capex

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday reviewed the progress of capital expenditure by the civil aviation ministry and the telecom department and asked them to expedite projects. During the meeting, progress of capital expenditure, implementation of infrastructure projects and asset monetisation plans with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Department of Telecommunications (DoT) were reviewed.

"Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman asked Ministry of Civil Aviation @MoCA_GoI to ensure that more projects are grounded and capex spending in FY23 is substantially higher than the present estimated target," the finance ministry tweeted.

The Finance Minister exhorted officials to monitor the implementation of projects besides monitoring the release of funds. Sitharaman reiterated that infrastructure projects are a priority for the government and necessary funds will be made available for capex.

Sitharaman underlined that infrastructure spending includes not only central government budgetary expenditure on infrastructure, but also spending by state governments and the private sector. The private capex on infrastructure and those under public-private partnership should also be tracked to capture the entire infra progress in the country.

Union Budget for 2021-22 has provided a capital outlay of Rs 5.54 lakh crore, an increase of 34.5 percent over the Budget Estimate of 2020-21. "Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman asked Dept. of Telecommunications @DoT_India to expedite digital expansion plans of the entire #NorthEast with a focus on #AspirationalDistricts," another tweet said.