Panel in place to speed up ₹100 lakh-cr infra projects

A task force to draw up a national infrastructure pipeline has been set up by the finance minister to implement the government's plan of investing ₹100 lakh crore in the infra sector over the next five years. The panel spearheaded by the department of economic affairs (DEA) secretary will have the CEO of the government think tank or his nominee as one of the members. The other four members would be drawn from the administrative ministry and the DEA. The task force would identify technically feasible, financially and economically viable infrastructure projects that can be started in 2019-20. The panel would also list the projects that can be included in the pipeline during 2021-2025. It has been tasked to estimate the annual investment and capital costs and guide the ministry in identifying appropriate sources of financing. The panel will suggest measures to monitor the projects so that cost and time overruns are minimized. The task force will submit its report on the pipeline for FY 2019-20 by October 31, and on the indicative pipeline for FY 2021-25 by December 31. It will enable robust marketing of the projects requiring private investment through the India Investment Grid, National Investment & Infrastructure Fund and other such entities.