India is looking for another phenomenon to induct in its policies that is actually not new but is being shaped in a new manner. The Indian economy is going great and the government is feeling that delaying progress in infrastructure projects is not meeting with the speed of growing economy.
Now, to meet the speed, the government has decided to develop the infrastructure projects through the public-private partnership (PPP) route. The Finance Ministry has asked the core sector ministries to form new out-and-out teams of external experts to organize, calculate and monitor such projects.
The government has decided to induct the Power, Road and Shipping, Ports and Urban Development ministries in the proposed core sector ministries. The Finance Minister P Chidambaram had given an indication in this year Budget that the government has decided to take more aggressive steps to attract more private equity in infrastructure.
For this, the report says that the finance ministry has told each ministry to establish a PPP cell. In the proposed PPP panel there would be a technical expert, a Management Information System expert and members from three legal firms. The panel would work as the nodal agency and would pave the way for processing all PPP projects.
Till date, only 21 of 37 submitted PPP proposals have got in-principle approval from the different ministry. The special cells will have the advisory role and recommending authority for the smooth going of PPP projects as well.
