Centre approves Rs 56,415 crore to 16 states for capital investment
The Finance Ministry has approved capital investment proposals of Rs 56,415 crore in 16 states in the current financial year as part of the ‘Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment 2023-24’ scheme, it said in a release on Monday.
Capital investment projects in diverse sectors have been approved including health, education, irrigation, water supply, power, roads, bridges and railways. Funds for meeting the state share of Jal Jeevan Mission and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana have also been provided to the states under this scheme to enhance pace of the projects in these sectors.
Bihar tops list
Bihar received the highest amount of Rs 9,640 crore, followed by Madhya Pradesh at Rs 7,850 crore and West Bengal at Rs 7,523 crore. Sikkim and Goa received the least amount at Rs 388 crore and Rs 386 crore, respectively. Under the scheme, special assistance is being provided to the state governments in the form of 50-year interest free loan up to an overall sum of Rs 1.3 lakh crore during the financial year 2023-24, said the release.
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The ministry has divided the scheme into eight parts, Part-I being the largest with allocation of Rs 1 lakh crore. This amount has been allocated among states in proportion to their share of central taxes and duties as per the award of the 15th Finance Commission. Other parts of the scheme are either linked to reforms or are for sector specific projects.
In Part–II of the scheme, an amount of Rs 3,000 crore has been set aside for providing incentives to states for scrapping of state government vehicles and ambulances, waiver of liabilities on old vehicles, providing tax concessions to individuals for scrapping of old vehicles and setting up of automated vehicle testing facilities.
Urban planning
Parts III and IV of the scheme aim at providing incentives to states for reforms in urban planning and urban finance. An amount of Rs 15,000 crore is earmarked for urban planning reforms, while additional Rs 5,000 crore is for incentivising the states for making urban local bodies creditworthy and improving their finances.
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Meanwhile, the government has earmarked an amount of Rs 2,000 crore for increasing the housing stock for the police personnel and their families under Part V of the scheme. The government has set aside Rs 5,000 crore for construction of a “Unity Mall” in each state with an aim to promote the concepts of “Make in India” and “One District, One Product (ODOP)” under Part VI of the scheme.
An allocation of Rs 5,000 crore has been made for extending financial aid to states for setting up libraries with digital infrastructure at panchayat and ward level under Part VII of the scheme. Other parts of the scheme are either linked to reforms or are for sector specific projects.
The ministry executed a similar scheme ‘Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment for 2022-23' last year under which capital investment proposals of Rs 95,147.19 crore were approved and an amount of Rs 81,195.35 crore was released to the states.