Why in News?

• To achieve the GDP of $5 trillion by 2024-25, India needs to spend about $1.4 trillion (Rs. 100 lakh crore) over these years on infrastructure.
• To achieve this task, a Task Force under the chairmanship of Secretary (DEA) has been constituted by Union Finance Minister to draw up a National Infrastructure Pipeline for each of the years from FY 2019-20 to FY 2024-25.

Highlights:

• In the past decade (FY 2008-17), India invested about $1.1 trillion on infrastructure.
• The challenge is to step-up annual infrastructure investment so that lack of infrastructure does not become a binding constraint on the growth of the Indian economy.
• Hon’ble Prime Minister in his Independence Day speech highlighted that Rs.100 lakh crore would be invested on infrastructure over the next five years.
• Infrastructure projects will include social and economic infrastructure projects. To implement an infrastructure program of this scale, it is important that projects are adequately prepared and launched.

National Infrastructure Pipeline:

• The National Infrastructure Pipeline would include greenfield and brownfield projects costing above Rs 100 crore each.
• Other qualifications for inclusion in the pipeline for the current year will include availability of a DPR, feasibility of implementation, inclusion in the financing plan and readiness/ availability of administrative sanction.
• Each Ministry/ Department would be responsible for monitoring of projects so as to ensure their timely and within-cost implementation.
• The Task Force will also enable robust marketing of the pipeline of projects requiring private investment through the India Investment Grid (IIG), National Investment & Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), etc.