New Delhi: Around 8,964 projects with a total investment of more than Rs 108 lakh crore are at different stages of implementation under the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP), according to the Economic Survey 2023 document tabled in Parliament Tuesday.
The government had announced the NIP in 2019 with a projected infrastructure investment of around Rs 111 lakh crore in FY20-25 “for developing a comprehensive view of infrastructure development in the country, monitoring its progress at the highest levels in the government for timely completion, and enabling a pipeline view for investors for them to plan infrastructure investments”.
The Economic Survey noted that a developing economy such as India requires a continued stepping up of infrastructure investment to sustain a high rate of growth, which in turn is a prerequisite for achieving wide ranging social objectives.
“The NIP includes infrastructure projects of more than ₹100 crore covering greenfield and brownfield investments. The NIP currently has 8,964 projects with a total investment of more than Rs 108 lakh crore under different stages of implementation,” the Survey said.
It added that the transport sector constituted more than half of the projects under the NIP.
“The funding for infrastructure comes from a variety of sources, from government to private sector to multilateral. However, given the quantum of funding involved, a creative financing option such as asset monetisation was also envisaged through the 5 lakh crore National Monetisation Pipeline,” the Survey said.
The National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) was announced in August 2021 and seeks to taps private sector investment for new infrastructure creation. The Survey pointed out that it is expected that private players would operate and maintain the assets.
“The NMP provides an opportunity for deleveraging balance sheets and providing fiscal space for investment in new infrastructure assets,” it said, adding that the estimated aggregate monetisation potential under NMP is Rs 6 lakh crore through core assets of the central government over a four-year period, from FY20-25.
Furthermore, it explains that the process of monetisation entails a limited period license/ lease of an asset, owned by the government or a public authority, to a private sector entity for upfront or periodic consideration. Funds received by the public authority are reinvested in new infrastructure or deployed for other public purposes.
Against the monetisation target of Rs 0.9 lakh crore in FY22, Rs 0.97 lakh crore have been achieved during the period under roads, power, coal and mines, the Survey said. In the second year of NMP (FY23), the government has set a target of Rs 1.6 lakh crore (27 per cent of overall NMP Target) under Core-Asset Monetisation.
“As India completes 75 years of Independence, the nation is evolving into a prominent force in the global economic order. India is the world’s fifth largest economy and the prospect of steady progress in the coming years is bright. Here, the critical role played by infrastructure in economic growth cannot be overemphasised. Investing in high-quality infrastructure is crucial for accelerating economic growth and sustaining it in the long run,” the Survey said.
It added that increase in infrastructure investment provides a critical push to the potential growth of the economy. The government, according to the Survey, has in the recent years provided an increased impetus for infrastructure development and investment through the enhancement of capital expenditure.
“This push has happened at a time of crisis when the capital expenditure by the private sector has been subdued. The outlay (target) for capital expenditure in 2022-23 (budget estimate or BE) was increased sharply by 35.4 per cent from Rs 5.5 lakh crore in the previous year (2021-22) to Rs 7.5 lakh crore, of which approximately 67 per cent has been spent from April to December 2022,” it said.
(Edited by Anumeha Saxena)
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