Sitharaman's Rs 102-trn push to boost India's infrastructure

She said the projects identified are in sectors such as power, railways, urban irrigation, mobility, education and health.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday unveiled Rs 102 trillion of infrastructure projects that will be implemented in the next five years as part of the government's spending push in the infrastructure sector.

Addressing a press conference, she said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in his Independence Day speech spoken of investing Rs 100 trillion in infrastructure.

Subsequently, a task force identified Rs 102 trillion worth of projects after conducting 70 stakeholder consultations in a short period of four months, she said.

The minister said another Rs 3 trillion of projects are likely to be added to this pipeline.

These projects are on top of Rs 51 trillion spent by the Centre and the states during the last six years, she said adding the new pipeline consists of 39 per cent projects each by the Centre and states and the balance by 22 per cent by private sector.

She said the projects identified are in sectors such as power, railways, urban irrigation, mobility, education and health.

Nearly Rs 25 trillion energy projects have been lined up, the minister said, adding that another Rs 20 trillion in road and nearly Rs 14 trillion railway projects have been lined up.

She said the projects in power including renewable sector, railways, urban development, irrigation, mobility, education, health, water and digital.

These sectors will form the bulk of the infrastructure investment under National Infrastructure Pipeline being announced on Tuesday, Sitharaman said.

The finance minister said Rs 102 trillion National Infrastructure Projects will help make India a $5 trillion economy by 2025.

Photograph: Vivek Prakash/Reuters