To boost capex, FinMin relaxes norms for expenditure exceeding Rs 500 cr

The finance ministry has relaxed norms for expenditure exceeding Rs 500 crore to accelerate capex (capital expenditure) that is pegged at Rs 11.11 lakh crore for the current fiscal.

This will give a push to government spending which suffered a slowdown for a couple of months due to general elections.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Budget proposed to raise the capital expenditure target by 11.1 per cent to record Rs 11.11 lakh crore for 2024-25.

To provide requisite operational flexibility in the execution of the Budget, it has been decided to relax rules for big releases above Rs 500 crore for all items of expenditure in the current financial year, an office memorandum dated September 2, 2024, said.

The relaxation permitted is subject to strict compliance by all ministries and departments, it said.

All expenditures should be in compliance of the guidelines of the Single Nodal Agency (SNA)/Central Nodal Agency (CNA) and Monthly Expenditure Plan (MEP) and Quarterly ...