In the union budget 2021, infrastructure sector has received a major boost. The National Infrastructure Pipeline that was launched in the year 2019 with 6835 projects has now been given an addition and stands at 7,400 projects.
Close to 2oo-odd projects worth Rs 1.10 lakh crores under some key infrastructure Ministries have been completed.
The Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “I propose to take concrete steps to do this, in three ways: Firstly, by creating the institutional structures; secondly, by a big thrust on monetizing assets, and thirdly by enhancing the share of capital expenditure in central and state budgets.”
She also emphasized on infrastructure financing. Infrastructure needs long term debt financing. A professionally managed Development Financial Institution is necessary to act as a provider, enabler and catalyst for infrastructure financing.
“I shall introduce a Bill to set up a DFI. I have provided a sum of Rs 20,000 crores to capitalise this institution. The ambition is to have a lending portfolio of at least Rs 5 lakh crores for this DFI in three years time,” she said.
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