The Centre will strive to achieve the capital expenditure target of Rs 11.11 lakh crore in 2024-25, minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary said on Friday, adding that any shortfall in meeting the target will be made good in the next financial year.

Chaudhary said the Centre had consistently increased investment for infrastructure building over the last five years. The Centre’s capex has increased from Rs 4.1 lakh crore in FY21 to Rs 11.11 lakh crore in the FY25 budget estimate.

With the spending capacity of government departments and agencies already overstretched, the Centre’s capital expenditure will likely fall short of the annual target of Rs 11.11 lakh crore by up to Rs 60,000 crore-Rs 1 lakh crore, FE had reported earlier.

Also Read

“The focus of the Modi Government is on building infrastructure… India’s road, air and rail connectivity has improved considerably over the last 10 years,” Chaudhary said here.

Keeping in mind the goal set by Modi to make India a developed nation by 2047, the government has been making budget allocations and will continue to do so in the upcoming Budget for 2025-26.

The strengthening of road, rail and air networks has not only accelerated the pace of economic development in the country but also the infrastructure has improved at the local level and the common people are getting direct benefits from it.

Also Read

He said that the national highway network has increased 1.6 times. In 2014, there were 91,287 km of national highways which has increased to 1,46,195 km by November 2024. Under the Bharatmala Project, 34,800 km of national highways are to be constructed in the first phase. Out of this, 26,425 km of work has been awarded while 18714 km of work has been completed. Along with this, the length of the National High-Speed ​​Corridor (HSC) has increased from 93 km in 2014 to 2,474 km in 2024.

He informed that 97% of the rail routes have been electrified, thereby promoting sustainability and efficiency. Under the AMRUT Bharat Yojana, 1,337 stations across the country are being redeveloped as per world-class standards