No Cut In Capex, Private Capital Coming In, Sitharaman To NDTV Profit In First Interview After Budget

Sitharaman said that there has been no cut in capital expenditure allocation and the percentage growth for FY25 is on a higher base of Rs 10 lakh crore.

While steadily increasing the capital expenditure, we also need to pay attention to the absorption capacity of capex, Sitharaman told NDTV Profit's Sanjay Pugalia in an exclusive and first interview with a TV news channel after budget 2024.

The finance minister presented the interim budget 2024 on Thursday, in which FY25 gross market borrowings have been pegged at Rs 14.13 lakh crore. This was lower than the number of Rs 15 lakh crore that economists had expected. For FY25, the fiscal deficit target was pegged at 5.1%, with the aim of reducing it to 4.5% by FY26.

The current economic growth is sustained and structural, and only the first two years after Covid-19 were a recovery, according to her.

The central government has encouraged states to spend on capex through interest-free loans to states for 50 years and said the private sector is also investing in sectors allied to infrastructure. "We also give states funds, expecting them to spend on capex."

"The PM is always focused on job creation connected to every new scheme. We want to encourage self-employment and the government is supporting small enterprises through collateral-free loans," she said, referring to the unemployment situation in the country.