India budgets US$47 billion for infrastructure this fiscal year

INDIA's new budget has allocated an estimated US$47 billion for ports, road and rail infrastructure development for the fiscal 2011-12 starting April 1.


"Infrastructure is critical for our development. The proposed budgetary allocation for 2011-12 is 23.3 per cent higher than that for the current fiscal year," said Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, according to Newark's Journal of Commerce, which also reported that polices were being devised to work within the scope of public-private partnerships.


"Our experience with the PPP model has been good, and discussions are underway to further liberalise our foreign direct investment policy," said Mr Mukherjee.


The government says it needs $1 trillion over the next five years to develop the country's infrastructure, nearly half of which is expected from the private sector, said the report.


Proposals mooted by the government to attract greater foreign investment include the creation of infrastructure debt funds and proposals that the cap on investment in corporate bonds by foreign institutional investors be increased from $5 billion to $25 billion.


Other budget proposals include granting "infrastructure status" to warehousing and cold storage projects as well as exempting shipowners from payment of import duties on certain spare parts, the report said.
(Source:http://www.schednet.com)