Large CPSEs spent 85% of capex target by February: Finance Ministry

By comparison, CPSEs had exhausted only 79.28% of the Rs 5.95-trillion target during the same period in the previous fiscal year

The capital expenditure (capex) by large central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) with a target of Rs 100 crore or more touched 85 per cent of the annual Revised Estimates (RE) target of Rs 6.46 trillion during the first 11 months of 2022-23 (FY23), revealed sources.

The capex by large CPSEs with a target of Rs 100 crore or more touched 85 per cent of the annual RE target of Rs 6.46 trillion during the first 11 months of FY23, informed finance ministry sources.  

The capex target covers 54 CPSEs and five departmental arms.

By comparison, CPSEs had exhausted only 79.28 per cent of the Rs 5.95-trillion target during the same period in the previous fiscal year (2021-22, or FY22). During the full financial year of FY22, only 96 per cent of the RE could be achieved. 

The capex of these CPSEs is over and above the Centre’s capex. 

While CPSEs spent Rs 5.5 trillion in capex in the April-February period of FY23, they had invested Rs 4.7 trillion during the comparable period of FY22, registering a growth of 17 per cent.

“Notwithstanding the RE of 54 CPSEs declining to Rs 2.41 trillion, from Rs 2.91 trillion, CPSEs are likely to miss the target and end up around 96-97 per cent of the revised target,” added the official.

Petroleum CPSEs and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) have, so far, driven the capex among CPSEs.

Despite the rise in the target of NHAI by 6 per cent in RE, it has managed to achieve 104 per cent of its target.

The largest crude oil and natural gas producer company Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has been able to achieve 82 per cent against its budgeted annual capex target of Rs 29,950 crore.

Indian Oil Corporation (IndianOil) achieved around double the amount of its annual RE of Rs 17,130 crore on the back of the resumption of work on its pipeline projects after the pandemic and enhancing its refining capacity.

Hindustan Petroleum Company (HPCL), too, has been able to achieve 200 per cent of its RE of Rs 7,163 crore.

The higher-than-estimated capex by IndianOil and HPCL is because their targets were reduced by an average of 45 per cent in the RE, compared to the Budget Estimates of FY23.

GAIL (India) has achieved its target of Rs 7,918 crore on the back of its investment in pipelines for the natural gas transmission and distribution business.

NTPC — with the highest budgeted capex under the Ministry of Power — has managed to achieve 95 per cent of its target of Rs 22,454 crore (up to February).

So far during the April-January period of FY23, the Centre has been able to spend only 78.3 per cent of its revised full-year capex target of Rs 7.3 trillion, against 73.4 per cent in the corresponding period last year, according to the latest available data from the Controller General of Accounts.