Telecom, railways, among others, go slow on capex – Newz9

NEW DELHI: The telecom division and the ministries of defence, railways and highways are among the foremost heads which have seen decrease capital expenditure, with the division of financial affairs (DEA) too going slow in the course of the fiscal yr as much as Nov.
Data obtainable on web site of the controller basic of accounts confirmed that in April-Nov, the most recent interval for which numbers can be found, the division of telecommunications (DoT) had spent solely 6% or Rs 5,424 crore of its annual allocation of Rs 84,496 crore. , A bulk of the spending that’s proposed is for assist to public sector undertakings, which was not launched till this era. The funds to PSUs are linked to milestones and their necessities and there was a serious spike within the funds earmarked for them for the present monetary yr.
The different is the division of financial affairs, which has spent 4% or Rs 2,948 crore of the Rs 66,197 crore, a bulk of which is for “other central sector expenditure” however it’s for use as and when required.
Lower govt capex in seen to be one of many causes for slowdown in financial development. Govt has attributed the decrease spend to elections in the course of the first quarter. During Apr-Nov, Centre’s capex was estimated at 49% of the Rs 11,11,111 crore allotted for the yr. During the identical interval final yr, 59% of the Rs 10,00,374 crore was used for capex. The distinction works out to Rs 72,195 crore.
Among the foremost spenders, the protection ministry’s capex was pegged at 41% of the Rs 1.7 lakh crore allotted for the yr, in contrast with 53% spent final yr.
But the true shock within the pack is the highways ministry, which over the previous few years had sought further funds. During April-Nov 2023, it had spent 54% of its capex allocation (Rs 1,46,827 crore of the Rs 2,72,241 crore) in opposition to final yr’s 68%. This is essentially to do with fewer awards, one thing that PM Narendra Modi flagged. Railways had spent decrease too – 67% versus 71%.