Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman speaks to NDTV on Budget 2025
In an exclusive post-Budget interview to NDTV today, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government's focus has been on capital expenditure (capex) in the last few years, and now it has also given a huge boost to increasing consumption.
She said since the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has been increasing capex by 10-15 per cent to such an extent that it announced capex of Rs 11.11 lakh crore last year. The Finance Minister said it would not be correct to say the Union Budget 2025 was lukewarm on capex.
"A rise in capex by 10.23 per cent in comparison to RE (revenue expenditure) takes it to over Rs 11.21 lakh crore. That is not an ordinary thing... Repeatedly, public expenditure on asset building has reached such a level that 10.23 per cent growth also seems ordinary," Ms Sitharaman told NDTV.
"Our emphasis on capex has not reduced. We are also giving states interest-free capex funds," she said.
The Finance Minister said the government has not shifted only towards consumption, rather it is taking along consumption and adding to the overall growth numbers.
"If you want growth, if you need instruments and triggers - like how we spent capex in the last five years keeping in mind the multiplier effect to grow the economy - then consumption boost is also needed. However, our first priority was to ensure we recognise honest taxpayers," Ms Sitharaman told NDTV.
