GOVT FACING FUND CRUNCH, SAYS GADKARI

NEWDELHI/MUMBAI: Admitting that the central government is facing financial constraints, road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday exhorted domestic companies to invest in infrastructure projects to kickstart a slowing economy.

“One thing is clear that the government is facing financial constraints and it is very difficult for any government to invest in all these sectors (infrastructure),” Gadkari said at credit rating agency Crisil’s India Infrastructure Conclave in New Delhi.

India needs to come up with an infrastructure investment model that is lucrative for investors as well as lenders, the minister said, adding that the country has huge opportunities for public private partnerships. The participation of smaller Indian companies in projects will ultimately create more competition, Gadkari said. “We need to motivate Indian industry, investors to invest more and we need support from financial institutions such as banks and insurance companies. We have to identify more sectors for public private investment,” he said.

The statements come against the backdrop of the government’s aim to make India a $5 trillion economy by 2024, a task that looks daunting in the face of the slowdown in the economy. In September, the finance ministry had announced the setting up of a task force headed by economic affairs secretary Atanu Chakraborty to prioritise central government infrastructure projects worth ₹100 trillion to be rolled out in next five years till 2024-25. Crisil also echoed Gadkari on the need for states to step up, saying in its annual infrastructure yearbook that they need to raise their spending plans by 3.5 times over the next decade to meet the country’s infrastructure goals.