Capital investment increased by 33% to Rs 10 lakh crore, says FM Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Budget 2023-24 in the Parliament.

New Delhi, Feb 01: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday is presenting the last full-fledged Union Budget 2023-2024 of the Modi government before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Presenting the Budget for 2023-24, she said the Capital investment has increased by 33% to Rs 10 lakh crore. This is 3.3% of GDP.

"Investments in infrastructure and productive capacity have a large multiplier impact on growth and employment. After the subdued period of the pandemic, private investments are growing again," Sitharaman said.

"The Budget takes the lead once again to ramp up the virtuous cycle of investment and job creation.... the capital investment outlay is being increased steeply for the third year in a row by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore, which would be 3.3 per cent of GDP," she added.

The minister added that the outlay announced will be "almost three times of the outlay made in 2019-20".

The government ensured that no one went hungry during the pandemic by providing free foodgrains to 80 crore poor people, she also said. In times of global challenges, G-20 presidency gives an opportunity to strengthen India's role in the global order, she added.

The government is implementing scheme to supply free foodgrains to poor under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY) with expenditure of Rs 2 lakh crore from January 1, the finance minister said.

Agriculture and allied sector growth has been buoyant through the years on the back of the measures adopted by the government to augment crop and livestock productivity, returns to farmers through price support and by promoting crop diversification. Private investment in agriculture sector has increased by 9.3 per cent in FY21 (7 per cent in FY20).

According to the minister, the Harmonized Master List of Infrastructure will be reviewed by an expert committee for recommending the classification and financing framework suitable for Amrit Kaal. She said one hundred critical transport infrastructure projects, for the last and first-mile connectivity for ports, coal, steel, fertiliser and foodgrains sectors have been identified. "They will be taken up on priority with an investment of Rs 75,000 crore, including Rs 15,000 crore from private sources," she said.

The finance minister said investments in infrastructure and productive capacity have a large multiplier impact on growth and employment. After the subdued period of the pandemic, private investments are growing again. "The Budget takes the lead once again to ramp up the virtuous cycle of investment and job creation," she added.

On October 13, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the PM Gati Shakti - National Master Plan, aimed at developing an integrated infrastructure to reduce logistics costs.

All logistics and connectivity infrastructure projects, entailing an investment of over Rs 500 crore, are routed through the Network Planning Group (NPG), constituted under the PM Gati Shakti initiative.