Centre released ₹263 bn to 20 states for capital expenditure

NEW DELHI: A summary report for October released by the Department of Expenditure, Government of India, highlights that the central government has released a total of ₹263 billion to 20 states as the first instalment of special assistance for capital expenditure.

The government has approved a total of ₹582 billion as special assistance to states for capital investments. It is part of the proposed one trillion-interest free loans earmarked in the budget for the financial year 2022-23. Allocation under part-I of the proposal is in the form of 50-year interest-free loans and is separate from the four per cent borrowing allowed to the states. The government of India has earmarked ₹7.5 trillion for capital expenditure in the current financial year.

The list of 20 states which would receive funds under this includes Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Goa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. 

In the first part of the scheme, Rs 800 billion has been earmarked which will be allocated to the states in proportion to their share in central taxes and duties as per the recommendation of the 15th Finance Commission headed by N K Singh. The remaining Rs 200 billion will be divided into multiple parts.

Rs 9 billion has been allocated to four states including Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat and Meghalaya, as part of Rs 50 billion set aside for part II of the scheme for Gatishakti infrastructure scheme. Apart from that, Rs 30 billion has been allocated under part V of the scheme for capital expenditure projects related to an optical fibre network. As part of this, Rs 12 billion has been approved for 11 states.