Source – https://www.news18.com/india/highways-ministry-railways-achieve-around-40-capital-expenditure-till-july-aim-to-spend-90-by-december-8541944.html
Publisher – News 18
With about eight assembly polls and the Lok Sabha elections scheduled in the next one year, the Union government is prioritising its spending.
Two of the key infrastructure sector ministries — Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and Railways — are inching towards spending 50 per cent of the Capex [capital expenditure] by mid-year, officials aware of the matter told News18. Of the Rs 5 lakh crore allocated to these ministries for the current financial year, the two have already spent Rs 2.06 lakh crore by July-end.
In the initial few months, it was MoRTH that was spending more but by July-end, Railways had taken the first position.
According to a Railway Ministry official, by July-end, the national transporter had spent around 44 per cent of the total outlay of Rs 2.4 lakh crore in 2023-24 — Rs 1.05 lakh crore.
“The ministry is on track with its expenditure. We are aiming to spend 90 per cent of the total Capex by the end of third quarter,” the official said, seeking anonymity. By the first half of the financial year, the ministry aims to spend 50 per cent of Capex.
In the first two months of this financial year, April and May, Railways had spent around Rs 55,000 crore and by June -end, this increased to Rs 96,500 crore. In total, the ministry had spent about Rs 1.05 crore till July end.
On the other hand, MoRTH had spent Rs 59,078 crore in the first two months and by the end of quarter one, this amount was Rs 99,273 crore. However, the planned target expenditure for the ministry was Rs 1.02 lakh crore by the end of quarter one. Interestingly, even after the end of July, MoRTH managed to spend just Rs 1.01 lakh crore.
“MoRTH’s total gross budgetary outlay for 2023-24 is Rs 2,58,606 crore. The ministry aims to spend 91 per cent of this by December,” an official from MoRTH told News18 on the condition of anonymity.
The official added that they are confident of meeting the said targets in the coming months.
The Narendra Modi government has prioritised infrastructure development. In the Union Budget 2023-24, after the Defence Ministry, MoRTH and Railways have bagged the highest allocation, much higher than what they have been getting in the past.
MoRTH was allocated Rs 2.6 lakh crore, while Railways got the highest-ever outlay at Rs 2.40 lakh crore. These two were only behind the Ministry of Defence that will receive Rs 5.94 lakh crore for 2023-24.
In the last council of ministers meeting chaired by the prime minister in the first week of July, it was pointed out that of Rs 10.5 lakh crore Capex budget announced earlier this year, the expenditure so far in this financial year till then stood at about 28 per cent at Rs 2.77 lakh crore on this front.
Major expenditure on Capex was reported till June 30 by the Roads and Highways Ministry at nearly Rs 1 lakh crore out of its budget of Rs 2.58 lakh crore and Railways at nearly Rs 0.75 lakh crore out of its budget of Rs 2.4 lakh crore.
The leading infra ministries were asked to accelerate spend of the Capex budget as this financial year’s Capex budget was a record 33 per cent higher than the last financial year.
