Budget 2018: Centre's FY19 capex may rise 16% to Rs 3.6 trn, pvt sector shy

For PSUs and Centre combined, capex target is very likely to cross Rs 4.2 trillion -- highest for any given year, surpassing previous high by a wide margin

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is looking at yet another year of the Central Government and state-owned companies carrying a bulk of infrastructure spending. The Centre’s capital expenditure for 2018-19 could be at least Rs 3.6 trillion (Rs 3.6 lakh crore), about Rs 510 billion (RS 51,000 crore) or 16 per cent higher than 2017-18 budgeted estimates of Rs 3.09 trillion (Rs 3.09 lakh crore).

For PSUs and the Centre combined, the capex target is easily expected to cross Rs 4.2 trillion (Rs 4.2 lakh crore), Business Standard has learnt. This would be the highest for any given year, and would