Former Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar on January 31 said the Government needs to continue its focus on capital expenditure in the upcoming Interim Budget, as private investment is 'still weak' and there is a need to bridge infrastructure gap, which has been 'plaguing' the Indian economy.
Mr. Kumar noted that increase in capital expenditure during the Modi government period is showing results in terms of the much better quality of the infrastructure and this was needed to make Indian industry globally competitive. He said because of rising indirect tax revenues and also the widening direct tax base, the Finance Minister will be able achieve fiscal consolidation targets.
"The capex thrust will continue because the private investment still remains a bit weak. And also, we need to overcome the infrastructure deficit that has plagued our economy and also the logistics cost, which are very high and can only be covered by rising public capital expenditure" he told PTI in an interview.
