Govt asks PSUs to submit capex plans, MSME dues report

New Delhi: Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) have been asked to submit their capex plans, along with a status report on payment of dues to suppliers belonging to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by October 15, sources said. The Centre has asked PSUs to submit the capex plans for the next four quarters. "We have an online system where suppliers can track their payment status. We will submit vendor payment update to the government by October 15," a senior official at a power company said. He added that once the bills are cleared by the competent authority, payments are made instantly.

PSU capex to boost economy

In order to revive a slowing economy, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had last month asked various PSUs to frontload their capex plans. The government has plans to ramp up public spending in order to support a slipping Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It has asked public sector companies like NTPC, Indian Oil, NHPC and ONGC to aggressively push their growth plans in the remaining two quarters of the fiscal.

The backdrop

According to official figures, state-run Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has a capex plan of Rs 32,921 crores for FY20. Its capex till August 2019 was Rs 8,777 crores which was 26.66 percent of the total planned capex. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has a capex plan of Rs 25,083 crores, of which Rs 8,173 crores (32 percent) has been spent. Power PSU NTPC has made a capex of Rs 8,490 crores (42 percent) out of a plan of Rs 20,000 crores. At a meeting with the Finance Minister, PSUs had projected their investment at about Rs 50,000 crore in the next quarter.

(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Telegram. Join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram and stay updated)