Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents the Union Budget 2024-25 in Lok Sabha, in New Delhi on July 23, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

In her seventh budget presentation, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced allocating Rs 11 lakh, 11 thousand and 111 crore towards capital expenditure. This would account for 3.4% of the GDP. Enumerating it as among the policy prerogatives towards investment in infrastructure by central government, she told the house that the significant investments made in previous years have triggered a multiplier effect.  

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Ms Sitharaman elaborated that the endeavour is to provide strong fiscal support towards infrastructure in the next years in conjunction with other priorities and fiscal consolidation. She further urged, “We will encourage states to provide support of similar scale for infrastructure development based on their priorities.”  

The finance minister stated that private investment in infrastructure will be promoted through Viability Gap Funding and a market-based financing framework would be brought out. Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran writing in the Economic Survey tabled on Monday had held that for India to build quality infrastructure, a higher level of private sector financing and resource mobilisation would be crucial. “Facilitating this would not only require policy and institutional support from the Central Government, but State and Local Governments would have to play an equally important role,” the Economic Survey author stated.  

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is presenting seventh consecutive budget on Tuesday. Prior to Monday, she has presented six full and one interim budget.