"Not in a hurry to shut that shop", FM backs the capex push till recovery is complete

"The higher public spending wasn't just a post-Covid recovery thought. Will continue with the capex," FM Sitharaman said at the Open House.

The Centre intends to continue with the infrastructure investment to ensure that the economic recovery sustains, and expects India Inc to join in with capex, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said at the CNBC-TV18 Open House on July 26.

"The higher public spending wasn't just a post-Covid recovery thought. Will continue with the capex," FM Sitharaman said at the Open House.

"We will continue with the capex as there is no way you can be sure that the recovery and growth is complete and will sustain for itself. We would like to be sure that the public spending does the job of bringing public infrastructure and bettering it as well. So, it is not a temporary solution. India still has infrastructure deficit in some parts of the country, its not just roads. We are also trying to modernise our ports. Look at the UDAN experiment for interlinking airports, today India's aviation growth has been enabled by this scheme," FM said.

Finance Minister Sitharaman kept India’s FY25 capex outlay unchanged at Rs 11.11 lakh crore in the Union Budget at the same level as was earmarked in February during the Interim Budget. This is 16.9 percent higher than the last year’s revised estimate of Rs 9.5 lakh crore.

"I will not be in a hurry to shut that shop", FM said, referring to the capex outlay. "Of course that doesn't mean we will keep doing it and not have a view of private sector investment. We will want that to be ramped up. I am sure that the industry has given me the feeling that they are aware of their role not just in nation building but in their own businesses have the brightest opportunity now within India - produce here and also export", she added.

Roads and railways claim the biggest slice of the capex pie -- their share inched up from just over 35 percent a decade ago to nearly 50 percent in FY24.