Govt unveils Rs 102 lakh crore infrastructure projects for next 5 years

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday unveiled Rs 102 lakh crore of infrastructure projects to be implemented in the next five years as part of the government's spending push in the sector.

Addressing a press conference, she said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in his Independence Day speech spoke of investing Rs 100 lakh crore in infrastructure.

Later, a task force identified Rs 102 lakh crore worth of projects after conducting 70 stakeholder consultations in a short span of four months as part of the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP).

Sitharaman said another Rs 3 lakh crore of projects are likely to be added to this pipeline.

"This will enable a forward outlook on infrastructure projects which will create jobs, improve ease of living and provide equitable access to infrastructure for all, thereby making growth more inclusive," she said.

Out of total expected capital expenditure of Rs 102 lakh crore under NIP, projects worth Rs 42.7 lakh crore are under implementation, projects worth Rs 32.7 lakh crore are in conceptualisation stage and the rest under development.

These projects are on top of Rs 51 lakh crore -- or 5 to 6 per cent of the GDP -- spent by the Centre and states in the past six years, said Sitharaman adding the new pipeline consists of 39 per cent projects each by the Centre and states and the balance by 22 per cent by private sector.

She said the projects identified are in sectors such as power, railways, urban irrigation, mobility, education and health. During the fiscals 2020 to 2025, sectors such as energy (24 per cent), roads (19 per cent), urban (16 per cent) and railways (13 per cent) amount to about 70 per cent of the projected capital expenditure in infrastructure.

The finance minister said the Rs 102 lakh crore NIP will help make India a five trillion dollar economy by 2025.

She said an annual global investor meet will be organised, the first edition of which will be held in the second half of 2020. Besides, there will be an annual supplementary report issued every year as part of a robust monitoring framework.

The government is committed to strict enforcement of contracts accompanied with a dispute settlement mechanism, said Sitharaman.

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