Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has exhorted large scale central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) for upgrading their capital expenditure (Capex) target by March 2020-21 for achieving 75% of Rs 61,483 crore by 3rd quarter of the current financial year, and 100% by the end of the fiscal year for uplifting the economy adversely affected by COVID-19 crisis.
As per an official statement, the minister held a virtual meeting with secretaries of power, mines and atomic energy and the chairman and managing directors (CMDs) of 10 CPSEs of same ministries.
While reviewing the performance of CPSEs, Sitharaman said that the capital expenditure by CPSEs has a pivotal role to play for encouraging the country’s economic growth and it is necessary to scale up for 2020-21 and 2021-22.
Sitharaman also appreciated the efforts of the ministries and CPSEs that made visible efforts to fulfill the capital expenditure targets and asked to make more efforts for attaining the goal of 75 per cent CAPEX by Q3 and over 100 per cent by Q4 of the FY’21.
For uplifting the economy and recovering from the impact of COVID-19 in a substantial manner, the finance minister highlighted the need for better performance of CPSEs. She directed the secretaries to strictly monitor the performance of CPSEs to ensure that the Capex targets be attained and prepare plans for it. As on November 23, 2020, Capex stands at Rs 24,227crore which is just 39.4 per cent of the whole year target.
To accelerate the economic growth amid the COVID-19 pandemic, regular meetings are conducted by Nirmala Sitharaman with numerous stakeholders and this meeting was the 5th one.
Recently, the minister also addressed a press conference and announced more stimulus measures to boost the economy’s growth and said that the macro-economic indicators show that the economy is heading towards recovery.
