New Delhi, March 9 (IANS): Coal sector PSUs such as Coal India Ltd and NLCIL have surpassed the annual target of 21,030 crore capital expenditure (CAPEX) fixed for the current financial year ending on March 31, 2024 with a total investment of Rs 22,448.24 crore at the end of February, the Coal Ministry said on Saturday.

The record level of productive investment which works out to 106.74 per cent of the target has a multiplier impact on the overall economy as it creates more employment and boosts demand in other sectors of the economy as well which spurs growth.

“With major CAPEX investments materialising in the last two months of the fiscal year, it is anticipated that both CIL and NLCIL will add to their achievement, further bolstering India's economic growth trajectory,” the Coal Ministry said.

The coal PSUs have also achieved an asset monetisation of Rs 55148.33 crore till February this year to outperform the target of Rs 50,118 crore fixed by the government for monetising unutilised assets during 2023-24.

The Coal PSUs have also taken the lead with procurements worth Rs 88,518 crore through the government’s e-marketplace (GeM) which is 415 per cent of target of Rs 21,325 crore. The GeM procurement is being promoted by the government to enable transparent purchases that ensure a lower price and weed out corruption.