Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman keen on taming debt load
Govt increasing tax revenues, public expenditure effectiveness, while reducing fiscal deficit: Sitharaman
2-fold Jump In Capex
- Capex rose from Rs6.57 lakh cr in FY21 to Rs13.71 lakh cr and Rs14.97 lakh cr in FY24 (BE) and FY25 (BE), respectively
- Debt to GDP ratio declines from 89.6% in FY21 to 81% in FY23
New Delhi: To bring down the debt burden, the government has taken various measures like increasing the tax revenue buoyancy, enhancing the public expenditure effectiveness, commitment to reducing fiscal deficit and augmenting the productive efficiency, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday.
In addition to strengthening the financial system, the government has more than doubled its effective capital expenditure from Rs6.57 lakh crore in 2020-21 to Rs13.71 lakh crore and Rs14.97 lakh crore in 2023-24 (BE) and 2024-25 (BE), respectively, to crowd in private investments, she said in the Lok Sabha. The government’s emphasis on increasing capital expenditure will not only boost the investments, but also return a higher GDP growth to lower the debt burden, she said.
Simultaneously, she said, the State governments have been incentivised to increase their capital spending through measures like 50-year interest-free capex loans and front-loading of tax devolution installments. Various other measures like reduction of the corporate tax rate, liberalisation of foreign direct investment, and enhancement of ease of doing business (EoDB) have created supportive conditions for sustained growth in private investment, she said.
As a result, the overall investment rate in the economy consolidated at 29.2 per cent of GDP in 2022-23 and further improved to 29.8 per cent in 2023-24 fiscal.
