GIF structure for infra financing to be finalised by April

India expects the World Bank to finalise by April the contours of the proposed Global Infrastructure Facility (GIF) that will finance core projects in emerging economies.

 

"The Spring Meeting of World Bank in April will discuss the design the GIF. The facility will help finance needs of infrastructure deficit nations," a senior Finance Ministry official said.

 

The World Bank made a presentation to Finance Minister P Chidambaram in October on the proposed GIF. "By October 2014 the final proposal of GIF would be prepared which will be considered by the board of the multilateral institution in its Annual Meeting," the official added.

 

India had earlier this year approached the World Bank to set up the GIF to help finance about $1 trillion investment needed for infrastructure projects during the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17).

 

The World Bank is working on GIF as it feels that the development of the infrastructure sector in emerging nations is critically important, the official said.

 

The GIF would be set up with contributions from India, the World Bank, sovereign wealth funds and pension funds.

 

"The facility would benefit the SWFs and PFs as they would get higher returns by investing through GIF as compared to direct investment into projects," the official said.

 

The government has been making efforts to develop roads, ports, airports, railways and so on, and half of the $1 trillion needed for the entire sector is expected to come from the private sector.

 

In order to promote long-term and low-cost funding for the sector, the government has allowed Infrastructure Debt Funds (IDF) as a new category of financial intermediaries to refinance loans.

 

Currently, there are six IDFs -- four from NBFCs and two in the mutual fund space.

 

To fast-track infrastructure development, the government set up a Cabinet Committee on Investment, which has approved 209 projects worth Rs 3.84 lakh crore since January 1.

 

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had earlier said the government will kick-start new infrastructure projects, including eight new airports and two new sea-ports, in the coming months to boost sluggish economic growth.

 

With economic growth slowing to a decade low of 5 per cent in 2012-13, the Congress-led UPA government has further opened up the economy to foreign direct investment and wants to use investments to return to high-growth trajectory.