The Centre has released about Rs 1.11 lakh crore to states during April-January under the scheme for interest-free 50-year special assistance to states for capital expenditure, minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary said on Monday.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Chaudhary said the Centre has approved loans worth Rs 1.22 lakh crore till January 31, of which about Rs 1.11 lakh crore has been released. He said out of the total allocation of Rs 1.5 lakh crore, Rs 55,000 crore under Part-I of the scheme is untied. This amount has been allocated to the states in proportion to their share of central taxes and duties as per the award of the 15th Finance Commission.
The remaining Rs 95,000 crore is inter-alia earmarked for reforms in certain citizen-centric areas and taking up sector-specific projects like the development of iconic tourist centres on a global scale; incentive for scrapping of old vehicles; and stimulating industrial growth.
In the revised estimate for 2024-25, the Centre has cut the outlay for the year to Rs 1.25 lakh crore as some states may not get the full tied loans as they may not have met the conditionalities.