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| India needs 15K bn for infrastructure by 2012: PM | | |
New Delhi, Oct 7 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said India needs a massive Rs 14,500 billion by 2012 to overcome infrastructure 'deficit,' a feat that requires substantial private sector participation for which he promised an independent/transparent policy and regulatory mechanism.
"In the coming weeks and months, we will be finalising the remaining elements of the policy, regulator and institutional framework for PPPs in infrastructure," he said inaugurating a conference on 'Building Infrastructure' here.
Dubbing as a 'matter of concern' the deficit in infrastructure, Singh said "our growth potential will be realised only if we can ensure that our infrastructure does not become a severe handicap. The quality and capacity of our infrastructure is certainly a matter of concern to one and all. We must deal with this deficit." He identified power sector as the bane of the economy and asked states to take immediate steps to make the sector financially viable.
"The bane of power sector seems to be the high transmission and distribution losses which account for almost 40 per cent of the electricity produced. No civilised society nor a functional commercial entity can sustain losses on such a scale," he said.
The government, he said, had opened a single window in Finance Ministry for viability gap funding for the projects which were only marginally viable.
A growth rate in the vicinity of 10 per cent was not impossible to achieve but for this it would require sustained efforts to boost agriculture and manufacturing growth, he said.
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