Nirmala Sitharaman strikes Cong's Chidambaram about capital expenditure: 'defective comparisons'

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday hit the congress member and former Union Minister P Chidambaram on his demands of a ‘cut’ in capital expenditure, which they called ‘misleading’ and based on ‘poor comparisons’. She argued that capital expenditure rather than reducing to £ 11.21 lakh-crore increased for the financial year 2025-26. Sitharaman responded to Chidambaram’s social media post, where he declared that the government cut £ 92,682 crore (Capex Be Over Re) and £ 90,887 (Sasci Be Over Re) for FY25. Sitharaman responded to Chidambaram’s social media post, where he declared that the government cut £ 92,682 crore (Capex Be Over Re) and £ 90,887 (Sasci Be Over Re) for FY25. He further questioned the reasons for the reduction and noted: ‘I asked the reasons for the cut. The Hon’ble FM denied that there was any cut! I’m speechless. ‘ Earlier in the Rajya Sabha, Chidambaram sought an explanation for reducing capital expenditure in the revised budget estimate for FY25, which dropped to £ 10.18 Lakh Crore of £ 11.11 Lakh Crore. He also pointed out that special assistance to states in the revised estimate was reduced, which dropped from £ 3.90 lakh crore to £ 2.99 lakh crore. In response, Sitharaman made clear that budget estimates (BE) are set up before the financial year begins and naturally develops into revised estimates (HER) based on expenditure trends, implementation capacity and emerging priorities, which is a standard practice in public finance. She takes to X (formerly Twitter), and reiterated: ‘The former finance minister @pchidambaram_in’s demands of a’ cut ‘in capital spending are misleading and is based on poor equations. Budget estimates (BE) are prepared before the financial year begins and naturally develops into revised estimates (re) based on the expenses. ‘ Nirmala Sitharaman explains the most important factors that influenced capital expenditure. The Union Minister said that Capex (CapeX) in FY 2024-25 was influenced by several factors, including the code of conduct during the general election, extreme weather and lower than expected spending by states and certain central agencies. In addition, many states have failed to submit use certificates, making it impractical to release further funds. However, she made it clear that these adjustments were not due to fiscal restrictions. A comparison of a year-to-year (yoy) highlights a clear increase in Capeex awards. The budget estimate (Be) for FY 2023-24 was £ 10.01 Lakh Crore, which increased in FY 2024-25 to £ 11.11 Lakh Crore, with a 11.11%growth. The Be for FY 2025-26 is at £ 11.21 Lakh Crore, which surpasses the estimate of the previous year. Similarly, revised estimates (re) indicate an increase of 7.3%, with the re for FY 2023-24 at £ 9.50 Lakh Crore and FY 2024-25 at £ 10.18 Lakh Crore. The minister emphasized that there was no cut in the Central Government Central Government. Since 2021, the Central Government has grown exponentially. The budget estimates (be) for Capeex over the years are as follows: FY 2021 – £ 4.12 Lakh Crore FY 2022 – £ 5.54 Lakh Crore FY 2023 – £ 7.50 Lakh Crore FY 2024 – £ 10 Lakh Crore Fy 2025 – £ 11.11 Lakh Crore Fy 2026 – £ 11.2 The Minister Rederde FY FY 2026 – £ 11.2 Lakh Crore The minister has the minister of the Minister of the Minister of the Minister. A Sered Question regarding spending on the special assistance scheme to States for Capital Investment (SASCI). The budget estimate (be) for SASCI in FY 2024-25 was £ 1.50 Lakh Crore, while the revised estimate (on February 1, 2025) was £ 1.25 Lakh Crore. However, she pointed out that real releases under SASCI (on March 26, 2025) amounted to £ 1,46,362 crore, and surpassed the re for FY 2024-25. She questioned what “speechless” was, and emphasized that the funding increased rather than being cut. Therefore, Shri @pchidambaram_in’s selective arithmetic and lack of comparisons between Be and Re or the same year serve political rhetoric, but few do for informed public discourse. The government’s fiscal caution stands firm, reflected of soil realities and transparent fiscal fiscal, something perhaps unknown to shri @pchidambaram_in ‘s of his days in Sitharaman wrote.