The government-owned companies have a surplus cash of more than Rs 3 lakh crore. Now the Union government is planning to utilise this surplus amount for executing infrastructure projects and investing in expansion of such projects.
The National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council or NMCC has suggested that such money be parked in the National Investment Fund (NIF) and use it for the purpose of infrastructure projects.
NIF money could be used for developing critical sectors such as aviation, nuclear power and railways, NMCC has suggested. Last month, the Prime Minister's Office stated that at the end of the first quarter of the fiscal year, 23 state-run firms had achieved 94 per cent of their capital expenditure target.