New Delhi, Feb 1 :Betting big on infrastructure development to spur growth in the economy, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday proposed to raise capital expenditure by 33% to Rs 10 lakh crore.

Presenting the last full Budget of the Modi 2.0 government in Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said that investment in infrastructure and productive capacity have a large multiplier impact on growth and employment.

“After the subdued period of pandemic, private investments are growing again. Budget takes the lead once again to ramp up the virtuous cycle of investment and job creation. The capital investment outlay is being increased steeply for the third year in a row by 33% to Rs 10 lakh crores which would be 3.3% of GDP. This will almost be three times the outlay made in 2019-20,” Sitharaman said while presenting Budget 2023.

The Finance Minister said that the substantial increase in public spending on infrastructure in recent years is central to the government’s efforts to enhance growth potential and job creation, crowd in private investment and provide a cushion against global headwinds.

“The direct capital investment by the Centre is complemented by the provision made for creation of capital assets through grants-in-aid to states. The effective capital expenditure of the Centre is budgeted at Rs 13.7 lakh crore which will be 4.5% of GDP,” said the Minister.