A similar program titled “Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment for 2022-23” was also executed by the Ministry of Finance in the last fiscal year. File | photo credit: Reuters

The Ministry of Finance has approved capital investment proposals of ₹56,415 crore for 16 states in the current financial year under a special assistance package announced in the budget.

In order to stimulate state investment spending, the program “Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment 2023-24” was announced in the Union Budget 2023-24. Under this program, special assistance is provided to states in the form of a 50-year interest-free loan up to an aggregate amount of ₹1.3 lakh crore in the financial year 2023- 24.

The Ministry of Expenditure has approved capital investment proposals of ₹56,415 crore to 16 states in the current fiscal year under the program “Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment 2023-24”, according to a statement from the Ministry of Finance.

Capital investment projects in various sectors have been approved, including health, education, irrigation, water supply, electricity, roads, bridges and railways.

Funds to cover the state share of Jal Jeevan Mission and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana have also been provided to the states under this program to accelerate the pace of projects in these sectors.

A similar program titled “Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment for 2022-23” was also executed by the Ministry of Finance in the last fiscal year. Under this program, capital investment proposals of ₹95,147.19 crore were approved and ₹81,195.35 crore was disbursed to the states in the last fiscal year.

The State Financial Assistance for Investment/Capital Expenditure Scheme, first instituted by the Ministry of Finance in 2020-21 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, has provided a very welcome boost to capital spending. state capital.