New Delhi, Feb. 3 -- The central government will maintain its focus on capital expenditure in the final quarter of 2024-25, and the year ahead, despite a dip in the first half of the year, expenditure secretary Manoj Govil said on Monday.

States will also increase their borrowing under the Centre's Special Assistance for Capital Investment scheme, potentially exceeding the limits set in the revised estimates, he added.

Speaking to Mint, Govil said while states have borrowed about Rs.1.09 trillion till January from the Centre under the scheme, which provides 50-year interest-free loans, they could exceed the budgeted estimates of Rs.1.25 trillion in the fiscal year.

"We want states to spend more, and states are spending more as well (on...