Context

Finance Minister has released Report of the Task Force on National Infrastructure Pipeline for 2019-2025. She has unveiled a ?102 lakh crore project which is in accordance with the government’s vision to make India a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25.

About

• It is estimated that India would need to spend $4.5 trillion on infrastructure by 2030 to sustain its growth rate.
• The endeavour of the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) is to make this happen in an efficient manner.
• These projects are on top of Rs 51 lakh crore spent by the Centre and the states during the last six years and the new pipeline consists of 39 per cent projects each by the Centre and states and the balance by 22 per cent by private sector.

Benefits of National Infrastructure Pipeline

• Well-planned NIP will enable more infra projects, grow businesses, creates job, improve ease of living and provide equitable access to infrastructure for all, making growth more inclusive.
• Well- developed infrastructure enhances level of economic activity, creates additional fiscal space by improving revenue base of the government, and ensures quality of expenditure focussed in productive areas.
• Provides better view of project supply, provides time to be better prepared for project bidding, reduces aggressive bids/failure in project delivery, ensures enhanced access to sources of finance as a result of increased investor confidence.

Features of National Infrastructure Pipeline

• To achieve this objective, a Task Force has been constituted to draw up the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) for each of the years from FY 2019-20 to FY 2024-25 with the approval of the Finance Minister.
• The Task Force is chaired by Secretary, DEA with CEO (NITI Aayog), Secretary (Expenditure), Secretary of the Administrative Ministries, and Additional Secretary (Investments), DEA as members and Joint Secretary (IPF), DEA as Member Secretary.
• Total project capital expenditure in infrastructure sectors in India during the fiscals 2020 to 2025 is projected at over Rs 102 lakh crore.

Sector-wise:

• According to the Task Force, Government has planned to increase participation of private sector in freight traffic. It will add 30% of net cargo by 2025 and will increase private trains to 500.
• Irrigation and rural infrastructure projects would account for ?7 lakh crore each. ?3.07 lakh crore would be spent on industrial infrastructure. Agriculture and social infrastructure would account for the rest.
• Road projects will account for ?63 lakh crore while another ?13.68 lakh crore would be for railway projects.
• Port projects would see spending of ?1 lakh crore and airports another ?43 lakh crore. ?16.29 lakh crore would be spent on urban infrastructure and ?3.2 lakh crore in telecom projects.
• According to the sector-wise break-up of projects made available by the Finance Ministry, ?54 lakh crore investment will flow in the energy sector, and of that ?11.7 lakh crore would be in just the power sector.
• ?42 lakh crore NIP projects which are in the implementation stage now include expressways, national gas grid and PMAY-G.