Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday strongly advocated greater foreign and domestic investments to boost growth and said PSUs alone are expected to pump in Rs 1.33 lakh crore in the current financial year.
"Investment must revive in this country...The economy has stabilised. The investment cycle has to start again. Both domestic investment and foreign investment must be encouraged. That will lead us to high growth," he said while addressing the media at the AICC headquarters.
He said the capital expenditure plan of 23 public sector undertakings, will go up to Rs 1.33 lakh crore from Rs 1.25 lakh crore in 2013-14. He said the capital requirement of banks in 2014-15 is estimated at Rs 45,528 crore, as against Rs 14,000 crore in the previous financial year. In the interim budget, the government proposed to infuse Rs 11,200 crore in public sector banks.
Chidambaram said foreign direct investment inflows in 2013-14 would exceed $ 27 billion. The inflows were $26.95 billion in 2012-13 and as per the latest estimate, it was $26.9 billion during April-February.
Meanwhile, Chidambaram added that the Government has also decided to withdraw the offer of non-binding conciliation to Vodafone and defend its case in the international arbitration being planned by the UK telecom giant in the Rs 20,000 crore capital gains tax dispute.
"I have already proposed to Cabinet that since they (Vodafone) have issued a fresh arbitration notice, the original offer of a non-binding conciliation should be taken to be as withdrawn. That offer is no longer there,"he added.