BackBudget: Govt hikes capex outlay by 33% to ₹10 tn for FY24, allocation for railways at ₹2.4 tn
She said 100 critical transport infrastructure projects, for last and first-mile connectivity for ports, coal, steel, fertiliser and foodgrains sectors have been identified.
PremiumNew Delhi: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday announced hiking the Centre’s capital expenditure for 2023-24 by 33% to a record ₹10 trillion for infrastructure development, which will make it 3.3% of GDP. The allocation is higher than ₹7.5 trillion budgeted for this year.
“The year-on-year increase of 33% is only marginally lower than last year’s 35% jump. The ratio of capex-to-GDP, which rose to 2.7% in 2022/23, is estimated at 3.3% in the new financial year," Sitharaman said while presenting the Union Budget for 2023-24.
She said 100 critical transport infrastructure projects, for last and first-mile connectivity for ports, coal, steel, fertiliser and foodgrains sectors have been identified.
“They will be taken up on priority with an investment of ₹75,000 crore, including ₹15,000 crore from private sources," she said, adding that investments in infrastructure have a large multiplier impact on growth and employment.
The increased capex will continue to fund the development of roads and highways, ports, railways, shipyards, airports, public transport, and inland waterways.
The Budget has also allocated a record ₹2.4 trillion in capital outlay for the railways for 2023-24, Sitharaman said. Last financial year, the allocation stood at ₹1.59 trillion.
The higher allocation follows the government’s focus on long-term infra projects like high-speed trains, freight corridors and modernisation of trains and railway stations.
The Centre has plans to come up with several Vande Bharat trains and also step up the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project. The Economic Survey for 2022-23 had hailed Vande Bharat trains as a great initiative. The railway ministry is aiming for full electrification by 2023, and construction of 2,000 km of tracks.
The government will continue with the ₹1.3 trillion long-term loan to states for longer term investments, the minister added.
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