India's spending on growth to bring the economy on track

India has vowed to spend almost half-a-trillion dollars to bring the pandemic-ravaged economy back onto a growth path, but that risks leaving vulnerable sections that still need support without immediate help.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration sees a 26% jump in capital expenditure -- money for creating or maintaining assets, including infrastructure -- for the year starting April 1, the increase in total spending is less than 1 percentage point. That’s partly due to cuts or slim increases for some social sector programs, even after the government has spent a record this fiscal year on rural jobs and food programs.