Tamil Nadu’s capital expenditure declined about 8.4% to ₹16,283.84 crore in the first half of fiscal 2024-25, from ₹17,773.80 crore in first half of fiscal 2023-24, as per provisional figures from the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). Capital expenditure refers to expenditure towards creation of fixed assets such as roads and bridges, irrigation structures, schools, hospitals, along with investments made in public sector undertakings.
For 2024-25, the State has estimated a total capital expenditure of ₹47,681 crore, a growth of 12.11% over the Revised Estimates of ₹42,532 crore in 2023-24.
On aggregate, for the top 20 states’ capital expenditure declined 9.8% in the first half of 2024-25. Election-related restrictions/ uncertainties weighed upon the public capex in the first half of the current fiscal, credit ratings firm CareEdge Ratings said.
The contraction in Capital expenditure was particularly sharp in Andhra Pradesh (-72% Y-o-Y), Telangana (-56%), Haryana (-38%), Uttarakhand (-35%), and Uttar Pradesh (-16%). However, a few states such as Punjab, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, reported double-digit growth in capital expenditure in the first half of 2024-2025, it added.
Citing CAG numbers for 22 States, the Reserve Bank of India’s report titled “State Finances: A Study of Budgets of 2024-25” said the States capital expenditure declined in April-October 2024-25, possibly reflecting the impact of the model code of conduct implemented during the general elections. Capital expenditure, however, showed signs of recovery in October 2024, it said.
So far in fiscal 2024-25 (till November), Tamil Nadu’s capital expenditure stood at ₹22,541.54 crore, which is 47.26% of the budgeted estimates, as per CAG. It is crucial to closely monitor the actual capex by states, as they have historically struggled to fully utilise their budgeted capex allocations, CareEdge said.
Published – December 23, 2024 11:06 pm IST