FM pulls up infra ministries for ‘sluggish’ capex, says public spending key to recovery

With pre-budget meetings already underway, Union Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has pulled up infrastructure ministries for their “sluggish performance” on capital expenditure and asked them to step up productive spending to stimulate the economy.

Admitting that private investments are yet to pick pace, Sitharaman has been keen on front-loading capital spending to aid a fledgling economic recovery. In one such letter dated December 6 to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, reviewed by The Indian Express, she wrote, “It is noted that the capex performance of your ministry till November 2021 was only 61% of the budget target.”