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The Union Budget 2026-27, presented in Parliament on Sunday, has increased public capital expenditure to Rs 12.2 lakh crore in FY 2026-27, with industry experts saying that the increased outlay will revitalise project pipelines.
Anand Kulkarni, Director at Crisil Ratings, pointed out that the 8 per cent increase in allocation for the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), is a "salutary" step for the industry. The focus is expected to translate into tangible progress on the ground very soon, he said. Kulkarni noted that the fiscal support would lead further pick-up in new project awarding and execution. Beyond direct budgetary support, the government is leaning heavily on innovative financing to sustain this growth. The strategy involves recycling existing assets to fund new ones, a move that experts believe is essential for long-term fiscal health. Commenting on the role of InvITs, Kulkarni mentioned that growth in the roads sector "will be significantly driven by higher reliance on monetisation of assets." The scale of this shift is evident in the doubling of the monetisation target. Kulkarni highlighted that the budget for monetisation, primarily through the toll-operation-transfer (TOT) and infrastructure investment trusts (InvIT) routes, "has doubled to Rs 30,000 crore from the previous budgeted Rs 15,000 crore," matching the revised targets of the current fiscal year. He noted that this "increased focus on monetisation reflects a strategic approach to funding infrastructure projects by catalysing private sector participation." In her budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that over the years, REITs have emerged as a successful instrument for asset monetisation. "I propose to accelerate recycling of significant real estate assets of CPSEs through the setting up of dedicated REITs," she said. (ANI)
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