Cabinet note on infra-push project soon

As a non-profit organisation, 3P India will look to facilitate sluggish projects

After emphasis on manufacturing through the 'Make In India' initiative, the Narendra Modi government is now going to push the infrastructure sector.

The finance ministry will soon approach the Union Cabinet to seek its approval for setting up 3P India - a new body to look at public-private partnership (PPP) projects.

"Cabinet note on 3P India will be moved soon. The body will comprise professionals headed by someone from the private sector. It will be an advisory body. Multilateral institutions can be part of it," said a finance ministry official who didn't wish to be identified. It will be formed under Section 25 of the Companies Act, which means it will be a non-profit company.

Officials said the Cabinet note would be moved after getting approval of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who is currently in hospital and hopes to be discharged this week.

3P India was announced in the Budget to facilitate the sluggish PPP projects. The structure of the body will be on the lines of Partnerships UK (PUK). PUK was set up in Britain in 2000 and had private sector procurement specialists such as corporate lawyers, investment bankers and consultants. It played a major role in boosting PPP projects in UK. It was dissolved in 2011, when a new body, Infrastructure UK, was formed.

"There is a corpus of Rs 500 crore provided in the Budget for 3P India, so that it doesn't have to come to the government with a begging bowl," said another official.

3P India will take over the work of PPP cell of finance ministry. It is likely to be a non-profit company on the lines of the National Skill Development Council (NSDC) in which the government has 49 per cent stake. It will look at a gamut of issues obstructing the growth of PPPs in India such as model concessionaire agreements, bidding process and dispute resolution mechanism.

To help companies involved in PPP projects get faster information and approvals, the government is also in the process of launching a revamped PPP website later this month. The website will be made more interactive with more relevant and useful information.

India is the world's largest market for PPP, according to a World Bank Report. Around 900 PPP projects are in various stages of development across the country.

"We have also seen the weaknesses of the PPP framework, the rigidities in contractual arrangements, the need to develop more nuanced and sophisticated models of contracting and develop quick dispute redressal mechanism," Jaitley had said in his Budget speech.

The concept of 3P India was first mooted three years ago. However, at that time it could not take off because of economic slowdown. Some officials said the idea could also not fructify due to stiff resistance from the then Planning Commission.