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. In the past decade (FY2008-17), 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. As per a recent PIB release, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made a brief statement on the contents of the National Infrastructure Pipeline at a Press Conference. She indicated that government will examine the recommendations of the Task Force and take action early.

Prime Minister in his Independence Day-2019 speech highlighted that Rs100 lakh crore would be invested on infrastructure over the next five years including social and economic infrastructure projects.

To achieve this objective, a Task Force was constituted to draw up the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) for each of the years from FY2019-20 to FY2024-25 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.

The first meeting of the Task Force was held in September 2019. Subsequently, several meetings were held with various Departments/Ministries engaged in infrastructure development, Corporates engaged in infrastructure development and construction, Banks/Financial Institutions, Private Equity funds, and Industry Associations, including CII, FICCI &ASSOCHAM, to seek information as well as suggestions on reforms required in infrastructure sectors.

This exercise, the first-of-its-kind, is expected to be followed up by a periodical review process. NIP will enable a forward outlook on infrastructure projects which will create jobs, improve ease of living, and provide equitable access to infrastructure for all, thereby making growth more inclusive. NIP includes economic and social infrastructure projects.

On the basis of the information compiled as on date, total project capital expenditure in infrastructure sectors in India during the fiscals 2020 to 2025 is projected at over Rs 102 lakh crore.

During the fiscals 2020 to 2025, sectors such as Energy (24 per cent), Roads (19 per cent), Urban (16 per cent), and Railways (13 per cent) amount to around 70 per cent of the projected capital expenditure in infrastructure in India. The detailed sector-wise break of the pipeline is as follows:

Out of the total expected capital expenditure of Rs 102 lakh crore, projects worth Rs 42.7 lakh crore (42 per cent) are under implementation, projects worth Rs 32.7 lakh crore (32 per cent) are in conceptualisation stage and rest are under development. It is expected that projects of certain states, who are yet to communicate their pipelines, would be added to the pipeline in due course.

The Task Force in its detailed report has given recommendations on changes required to several key sectoral policies and other reform initiatives to be initiated by Central and State Governments. A monitoring mechanism has also been suggested to ensure timely implementation.