Govt to infuse Rs 2,000 cr in NIIF debt fund in FY21 for infra development
The government will infuse Rs 2,000 crore as equity in a debt platform of the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) in the current financial year. This is part of the Rs 6,000 crore announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman under a stimulus package earlier this month.
However, given a resource crunch facing the government, the amount approved by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday – which is a third of the total funds committed – could be infused this year only if there is an absorptive capacity to utilise that. The remaining funds will be released in 2021-22.
The total equity infusion of Rs 6,000 crore, along with other funds, will help the platform raise Rs 6-7 million of debt by 2025 to fund infra projects to the tune of Rs 1.1 trillion so that costlier bank finances could be replaced.
