Finance ministry reviews PSUs' capex programme

The projects and investment plans in the pipeline, involving 32 PSUs, were reviewed at a meeting chaired by Finance Minister

Pushing for investments and growth, government on Friday reviewed the capital expenditure programme of state-owned companies and impressed upon them to complete projects in the remaining part of the fiscal.

The projects and investment plans in the pipeline, involving 32 public sector undertakings (PSU) , were reviewed at a meeting chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. It was attended by chairman and managing directors of major PSUs including National Thermal Power Corporation Limited, Indian Oil Corporation Limited and Coal India and senior officials of the Finance Ministry.

“Most PSUs are on track to meet their capex plan for the year. There are some who are lagging, we expect them to cover up in the remaining of the year,” Finance Ministry sources said after an hour long meeting here.

Almost 50 per cent of the PSUs have spent between 45-50 per cent of their investment plans during the first six months of the fiscal, sources said, adding that the PSUs which are lagging have been asked to speed up investment.

Companies have been asked to keep investment pipeline ready for the future.

Asked if dividend payout was part of the discussions, sources said, it would be taken up closer to the budget with companies individually.

Jaitley had at many occasions said that the government is boosting public investment in infrastructure sector to fuel growth.

“We have put in a lot of budgetary support into modernising the railways. In fact, if railways would spend all the money that is being available to us, we would probably be able to see a much faster impact on various other sectors such as steel, cement, employment, and so on,” he had said.

In a bid to boost growth, the government would divert its savings on the subsidy front towards irrigation and infrastructure sectors, he had said.