Govt to boost public spending on infrastructure: FM

New Delhi: India will increase public spending on infrastructure, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Monday.

The government estimates the country needs to spend $800 billion on infrastructure to grow 7 percent per annum, sharply higher than around 5.5 percent projected by the Reserve Bank of India for the current fiscal year that ends in March.

Concerned over slow economic growth, some government aides are also pushing to row back on fiscal deficit targets when Jaitley announces the 2015/16 budget next month. They have advocated more spending on infrastructure projects that could lift growth.