Deepak Parekh to head panel on infrastructure funding

20 December 2006

Mumbai: The government will constitute a committee, with IDFC chairman Deepak Parekh as its head, to find ways of mobilising long-term finance for infrastructure sector that require a massive $320 billion of investment by 2012.

Announcing this, finance minister P Chidambaram said, "Parekh has agreed to head the committee. I urge the committee to get on to the job and submit a quick report in six weeks in a run-up to the budget."

The committee will look into long-term financing, both equity and debt, and legislative changes required for funding the infrastructure sectors, he told a CII workshop on infrastructure. It is expected to work out a mutually agreed solution on the funding issue.

The finance minister also agreed to consider the planning commission's proposal to use the country's large forex reserves for infrastructure projects.

"I have asked the finance secretary to prepare a note on how to use foreign exchange reserves for funding infrastructure projects," he said.