Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday asked the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) to clear their dues by October 15.

Addressing a press briefing here after meeting with the representatives of 32 CPSEs, she pointed out that a drive has been started to clear all pending dues. Besides, an online portal will be created to monitor the clearance of due payments, she said.

She said the government was reviewing counter-claims related to arbitration and a meeting will be held between the Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank of India on the issue.

Nirmala Sitharaman CPSU
Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman holds meeting with the heads of Central Public Sector Undertakings (CPSUs), in New Delhi.IANS

In terms of capital expenditure, the government expects that overall CPSEs capex for the rest of fiscal to be over Rs 1 lakh crore.

At the press briefing, Finanace Secretary Rajeev Kumar said efforts were being made to ensure that the capex cycle continues by ensuring that there are no delays in payment of dues.

He disclosed that the CPSEs had a capex of Rs 48,077 crore till August 2019, while the capex till December was expected to be around Rs 50,000 crore and for Q4FY20 around Rs 54,000 crore.