Speed up vehicle scrapping: Finance Minister

Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has called for expediting the implementation of the vehicle scrappage policy and improving the data as well as road connectivity in hilly regions and aspirational districts of the country.

At a review meeting with the Departments of Telecom and Atomic Energy and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), Ms. Sitharaman said that enhanced capital expenditure will play a critical role in revitalising the economy post-pandemic and encouraged them to front-load such spending.

While the Budget has a capital outlay of ₹5.54 lakh crore, the minister said public sector enterprises need to complement these capex efforts and ministries must tap innovating methods to fund new projects.

The telecom department was urged to expedite important projects pertaining to provision of high level data connectivity in all parts of the country including aspirational districts, the Finance ministry said in a statement.

“The MoRTH was asked to explore the possibility of enhancing connectivity in hilly regions and to expedite the implementation of Vehicle Scrapping Facility. The Department of Atomic Energy was asked to ensure timely achievement of initiatives announced under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Package,” it added.

Ms. Sitharaman asked ministries to explore Public Private Partnerships for viable projects and sought early clearance of pending dues Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises.