PTI New Delhi

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the capital expenditure has not been reduced but has gone up to Rs 11.21 lakh crore for the 2025-26 fiscal, and claims of cuts are misleading and based on flawed comparisons.

Replying during the Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Sitharaman said the capital expenditure was Rs 11.11 lakh crore in 2024-25. "Actually, (in) the budget this year..., it has gone up to Rs 11.21 lakh crore. So, the capital expenditure has not been cut at all," she said.

Loans to states under the scheme for interest-free 50-year special assistance for capital expenditure have gone up proportionately. "So, cutting down the capital expenditure is not the case with us," she added. Sitharaman was responding to a question by senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram.

Later responding to a social media post of Chidambaram, Sitharaman said his "claims of a cut in capital expenditure are misleading and based on flawed comparisons". Chidambaram's selective arithmetic and flawed comparisons between BE and RE of the same year may serve political rhetoric but do little for informed public discourse, she said in a post on X. 

The government's fiscal prudence stands firm, reflective of ground realities and transparent fiscal management, something perhaps unfamiliar to Chidambaram from his days in office, she added. She also clarified that capital expenditure was influenced by several factors: the Model Code of Conduct during General Elections, extreme weather events, and lower-than-expected spending by states and certain central agencies.

With regard to the Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI), she said it may be noted that the Budget Estimates for SASCI of 24-25 was 1.50 lakh crore, the Revised Estimate (as of 1 February 2025) was 1.25 lakh crores.  "I have mentioned in the House that the actual releases for SASCI (as of 26 March 2025) in FY24-25 is Rs 1,46,362 crore. This is an increase over RE24-25, what is there to be speechless?" she wondered.