NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said   that public capital spending programmes are integral to India's long-term growth prospects. At the third G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) summit, which Indonesia hosted in Bali, Sitharaman highlighted the importance of evidence-based policymaking for robust economic systems.

The government has laid emphasis on capital expenditure (CAPEX) to push economic growth hit by the pandemic. It is expected that the increase in public spending would crowd in private investment. Sitharaman raised CAPEX 35.4 per cent for the financial year 2022-23 to Rs 7.5 lakh crore to continue the public investment-led recovery of the pandemic-battered economy.

 The capital expenditure last year was Rs 5.5 lakh crore. "Reflecting on India's growth story, FM shared that India's long-term growth prospects are embedded in public CAPEX programmes, & EvidenceBased PolicyMaking is vital for resilient economic systems," the finance ministry said in a tweet.

The finance minister also emphasided that sustainable global recovery should be pivoted on climate actions and the focus needs to be on scaling up climate finance and propelling green transitions. Participating in the 2nd session of the ongoing G20 FMCBG, finance misnter shared views on G20's Health Agenda, including pandemic preparedness and response mechanisms. The FM also underlined the need for immediate mobilisation and deployment of resources for health emergencies.

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