Govt entities' capex may hold steady at Rs 7.8 lakh cr in FY26

NEW DELHI: Capital spending by large central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) and four key government entities are likely to remain steady this fiscal year, keeping up support to broader economic activity, said a senior government official.These CPSEs and government entities have set a total capital expenditure target of Rs 7.85 lakh crore for FY26, almost unchanged from last fiscal's actual spending of Rs 8.07 lakh crore, which surpassed the revised goal of Rs 7.87 lakh crore.The official emphasised the latest target is a tad conservative and it may be eclipsed just like last fiscal.CPSEs and the large government agencies-having annual capex targets of at least Rs 100 crore-spent Rs 49,781 crore in April, marginally lower than Rs 50,206 crore a year earlier, he said.Apart from the CPSEs, the data covered the Railway Board, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and Damodar Valley Corporation.Continued spending by the CPSEs and entities is crucial for stimulating growth, given the high multiplier effect of such spending.In April, the Railway Board led, with a capex of Rs 25,327 crore, followed by NHAI (Rs 7,359 crore), ONGC (Rs 2,669 crore), NTPC (Rs 2,226 crore) and Indian Oil Corporation (Rs 2,102 crore). Last fiscal, the railways, NHAI and petroleum firms were key spenders.The Centre is likely to have met its revised target for FY25, having scaled it down to Rs 10.18 lakh crore from the budget estimate of Rs 11.11 lakh crore.