“Renewal and green energy investment are two focus areas of the government. The share of renewal in the overall energy pie is only going to increase going forward, not only in India but across the world,” says Sachin Bajaj, Executive Vice President & Head – Investments, Max Life.
In an interview with ETMarkets, Bajaj said: “Fiscal consolidation, continuation of capex growth, focus on energy transition, housing, tourism, healthcare, and railways are the key themes from the Budget,” Edited excerpts:
Rs 11.11 lakh cr – a number which has caught the eye of many. What do you make of the current outlay and the impact it will have on the economy?
Sachin Bajaj: Rs 11.11 lakh crore is the capital expenditure target for the next fiscal year. While the growth of 17% for FY25 looks a bit lower when compared to the current financial year, however, if we look at the capex for FY21, the same number was Rs 4.1 lakh crore, i.e., almost a 3x increase in 4 years.
The pace of the capex increase is slower when compared with the past two years, which means the government now expects the private sector to participate and increase their capex spending.
With a focus on fiscal prudence, there is not much room for the government to increase public spending. In this context, giving priority