The combined CAPEX target for FY 2020-21 for these 14 CPSEs is Rs.1,15,934 crore

In order to propel economic growth stymied by the devastating Covid-19 pandemic, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday asked central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) to increase their capital expenditure(CAPEX).

“CAPEX by CPSEs is a critical driver of economic growth and needs to be scaled up for the Financial years 2020-21 and 2021-22,” the Finance Minister said while holding a video conference with secretaries of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the Ministry of Coal and CMDs of 14 central public sector enterprises.

This was 4th in the ongoing series of meetings that the Finance Minister is having with various stakeholders to accelerate the economic growth in the background of COVID–19 pandemic.

In financial year 2019-20, against the CAPEX target of Rs. 1,11,672 crore for these 14 CPSEs, the achievement was Rs. 1,16,323 crore i.e. 104 percent. CAPEX target for the current financial year is Rs 1,15,934 crore.

During the review meeting, the Finance Minister asked the concerned secretaries to closely monitor the performance of CPSEs to ensure the capital expenditure to the tune of 75 percent of the capital outlay by the end of Q3 of FY 2020-21 and make an appropriate plan for it.

Sitharaman maintained that more coordinated efforts are required at the levels of secretary of concerned ministries and CMDs of CPSEs to achieve CAPEX targets.

She encouraged the CPSEs to perform better to achieve their targets and to ensure that the capital outlay for FY 2020-21 is spent properly and within time.

She said better performance of CPSEs can help the economy in a big way to recover from the impact of COVID-19.