Final report of Parekh panel by fiscal-end: IDFC's Rajiv Lall

MUMBAI: The final report of the Dipak Parekh committee report on infra financing is likely to come out by the end of this fiscal, infra financing firm IDFC Chairman Rajiv Lall said today.

Lall, a member of the Parekh committee pointed out that when the country is planning to invest USD 1 trillion in the infrastructure space in the next five years, financing of these projects will be critical for success and as much as half of this targeted spending has to come from the private sector.

On October 4, the high-level committee on infra financing, headed by HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh, had submitted its report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The draft panel report called for hiking power and natural gas charges, and rail fares, apart from allowing 100 per cent FDI in telecom from 74 per cent, improving environment for private investment, reforms in power distribution, allowing coal imports through STC, MMTC or directly through power producers and expedite green-field airports among others.

The panel, finally notified in July, was originally set up in November 2010 under the chairmanship of former RBI Deputy Governor Rakesh Mohan and has the mandate to review existing policies and suggest necessary changes in the investment framework in the high-priority infrastructure sector.

The committee also has been tasked with assessing financing requirement in the 10 key physical infrastructure sectors -- electricity, roads, bridges, telecom, railways, irrigation, water supply and sanitation, ports, airports, storage, and oil and gas pipelines.

On the proposed National Investment board, which will supercede all administrative ministries in clearing large projects, Lall said he is very hopeful that the government has the courage to introduce it, which is very important for the infra sector.