Allow insurance, pension funds to invest in lower-rated debt: SBI chief

Dinesh Kumar Khara says this is needed to ensure money flows into infrastructure, as is the case across the globe

To make the debt market more vibrant, long-term liabilities with the insurance and pension sector need to be channelised effectively wherein they can be allowed to invest in low-rated instruments instead of just AAA and AA paper, said Dinesh Kumar Khara, Chairman, State Bank of India (SBI).

Speaking at the CII Partnership Summit, Khara said, "As of now, they are only into AAA and AA papers. But I think these funds can be made available to low-grade papers also. This is perhaps the need of the hour if we want to create infrastructure. We have to ensure this money flows into