Government plans monitoring of all infrastructure projects under the ₹111-trillion National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) on a digital platform to ensure access to updated project information for investments across various sectors.
The projects will be mapped and evaluated by the departments concerned and the finance ministry to monitor the implementation and actual progress, compared to the initial estimates of the NIP for each project.
According to the digital portal, the ₹3.66 trillion Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, the ₹1.08 trillion Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail corridor, the ₹19,000-crore Pune airport development programme, and the ₹1.09 trillion North South Dedicated Freight Corridor, among others, are part of the NIP. As many as 1,342 water and sanitation projects worth ₹21.51 trillion have also been identified, including the Jal Jeevan Mission Implementation Project.
Similarly, 710 social infrastructure projects worth ₹13.96 trillion will be a part of NIP, including the Mumbai City Affordable Housing Construction.
“The online dashboard is envisaged as a one-stop solution for all stakeholders looking for information on infrastructure projects in India. The dashboard is being hosted on the India Investment Grid (IIG), which is an interactive and dynamic online platform that showcases updated and real-time investment opportunities in the country,” the government said.
“The digital platform will provide greater visibility to projects and also achieve the mandate of the NIP to market the projects in an efficient manner. The NIP project database hosted on IIG would provide visibility to NIP and help in financing from prospective investors, domestic and foreign, and give them access to updated project-level information,” it said.
While launching the online dashboard for NIP, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman asked all departments and ministries concerned to update the status of projects on the NIP portal and keep it updated in real time.
In April, a task force had submitted the final report on the projected ₹111-trillion investments for 2020-25 to develop social and economic infrastructure to boost economic growth. The task force was in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to roll out an ambitious infrastructure push of ₹100 trillion over the next five years to make India a $5-trillion economy. Out of the total expected capital expenditure of ₹111 trillion, 40% of the projects worth ₹44 trillion are under implementation, while projects worth ₹33 trillion, or 30% of the schemes, are at the conceptual stage.
Three different committees have been set up to monitor the progress of the infrastructure projects, eliminate delays, and suggest ways to increase financial resources.