NEW DELHI: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday appealed to the department of telecom to expedite digital expansion plans in the north-eastern region and asked the ministry of civil aviation to raise its capital spending target substantially in the next fiscal. She met officials of the civil aviation ministry and Department of Telecommunications to review the progress of capital expenditure and asset monetisation plans, the ministry said in a tweet. She asked the ministry to ensure that more projects are implemented and that the capital expenditure in 2022-23 (April-March) is more than the current estimated target.

The finance minister also asked the Department of Telecommunications to expedite digital expansion plans of the entire Northeast. In an interview in September, Sitharaman had said that she expects to ramp up capital expenditure in Oct-Dec, with the government "pushing as hard" as it can.

The Budget for FY22 raised the CAPEX target by 30 percent from a year before, as the government pushed for public CAPEX (Capital Expenditure)  to reverse a Covid-induced slump in economic growth. The finance ministry has already asked various infrastructure ministries and departments to step up CAPEX and create durable assets.

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