NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s federal government has approved investment proposals worth 564.2 billion rupees ($6.88 billion) to state governments under a scheme that provides interest-free loans for infrastructure spending, according to a statement from the finance ministry.
As part of the 2023/24 Union Budget, the federal government had announced it would provide special assistance to states by extending 50-year interest-free loans worth 1.3 trillion rupees during the ongoing financial year.
The capital investment projects will be implemented in sectors like health, education, irrigation, water supply, power and roads among others, the statement added.
Last year, of the 1 trillion rupees allocated under the scheme, the federal government had approved investment proposals worth 952 billion rupees. Of this, an amount of 812 billion rupees was released to states.
($1 = 82.0180 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Nikunj Ohri; Editing by Sohini Goswami)
