Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that ministries have cleared around Rs 40,000 crore out of the total outstanding dues of Rs 60,000 crore mainly to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) for supply of goods and service and the remaining payments will be done in the next few days.
To give a push to infrastructure spending aimed at boosting growth, the minister also asked all the ministries to provide detailed capital expenditure plans for the next four quarters. She said the government should not sit on overdue payments. She also stated that the money should go to people who have been waiting for it and the money should reach the ground. She added that the idea here is to ensure there are no outstanding dues to suppliers of goods and services.
Sitharaman further said that the government's capital expenditure was on track and Budget estimates would be met. She also said the consumption was on rise and credit offtake was growing, which together should result in bouyancy in the economy.