India seeks foreign investments for infra sector
The report estimates that India would need $320 bn at 2005-06 price level in infrastructure spending over the next five years. Do's & don'ts of telephonic interview
By PTI |
NEW YORK: Emphasising that the government cannot alone fulfil the massive amount of funds required for infrastructure, senior Indian officials have invited foreign entrepreneurs to invest in the sector.
The sector, which would require investments worth $ 500 billion to sustain India's fast-growing economy, was also on the key area list of the government which planned to enhance it in a big way over next several years, they said.
The opportunity for investments exists in all aspect of development in this sector production, transmission, distribution and cutting down transmission losses, Anil Razdan Secretary of Power Ministry said.
As India expands its power production and distribution, it would need a lot equipment including transformers and hence the manufactures would have a lot of opportunities too, he told investors at a major forum here.
A report released on the occasion said that the infrastructure sector was being paid maximum attention by the government to ensure that supply shortages do not trigger runaway inflation. "At present, it offers significant opportunities to private investors, both domestic and foreign," it said.
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Managing Director of IDFC Dr Rajiv Lall said, "The notion that only government can and should provide all public infrastructure service has been gradually abandoned in India over the course of past decade". With private sector participation in telecom, roads, ports, civil aviation and airports leading visible improvement in service quality, time and cost, there is growing acknowledgment of the benefits that private sector bring to infrastructure sector, he told the investors.
The government, Lall emphasized, hopes to harness the private sector's efficiencies to a much greater extent in meeting India's infrastructure needs either through fully private ventures or through public private partnership (PPP).
The report, produced under the aegis of 3iNetwork, estimates that India would need $ 320 billion at 2005-06 price level in infrastructure spending over the next five years.
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Close to half of the money would come from the private sector to maintain the current rate of growth and to bring millions of people out of poverty. Of this, India would need $ 130 billion for power, $ 66 billion for railways, $ 49 billion for highways, $ 11 billion for ports, $ nine billion for civilian aviation and $ 55 billion for other sector.
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To encourage private sector, it said government has been dismantling long-standing barriers and actively encouraging private investment in big public sector projects. "The government is helping private sector developers by lowering their risk in road projects. Telecom and aviation sectors have demonstrated that introduction of private capital introduces discipline and leads to remarkable results even within very short term," it said.
Releasing the 227-page report, Consul General Neelam Deo urged entrepreneurs to study it thoroughly to grasp the huge opportunities that India offers.
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