Centre sanctions Rs 510 billion capex loan to 18 states

The central government has approved an amount of Rs 510.85 billion out of the Rs 1 trillion interest-free 50-year capex loans earmarked for 2022-23 to 18 states till September 2022. The beneficiary states are Bi­har, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Har­yana, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Megha­laya, Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripu­ra. The centre launched an expanded scheme of Rs 1 trillion for 2022-23 to help states maintain their capex. Of this, Rs 800 billion will be released proportionately to the states’ share in the devolution of central taxes and for projects based on their viability. The balance Rs 200 billion is linked to infrastructure connectivity projects such as laying of optical fibre cables for last-mile connectivity under BharatNet in rural areas, the PM Gram Sadak Yojana, projects under the GatiShakti master plan and urban sector reforms.