Govt now asks departments to fast-track budgeted spend; stimulus can wait

PM's address may revolve around social reforms today

A day before Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s much-awaited announcement, to be telecast live, a top government source indicated that the focus was on fast-tracking the budgeted expenditure of ministries and departments rather than on a stimulus package to lift the economy. 

The PM’s speech on Monday at Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) national executive meeting would mostly be around social schemes, the source said. With this meeting, the year-long birth centenary celebrations of BJP ideologue Deendayal Upadhyaya would come to an end.

Pointing out that several ministries and departments have been sluggish in spending their budgetary allocation, the source said