Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday announced a pipeline of assets the government is looking to monetise to collect about Rs 6 trillion to partly fund its ambitious infrastructure projects over four years ending 2024-25. About Rs 88,000 crore will be realised through asset monetisation in the current financial year.
Sitharaman, however, clarified that the ownership of all these assets would remain with the government, and there would be a mandatory hand-back of assets after a certain time period. “So, the government is not selling away these assets,” she said.
The National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) will constitute 14 per cent of the Centre’s share of Rs 43.29 trillion in the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP). Global players such as Blackstone, Blackrock, and Macquarie have shown interest in participating in the monetisation process.
The plan covers 20 asset classes spread over 12 line ministries and departments. The top three sectors by value are roads (Rs 1.6 trillion), railways (1.5 trillion) and power (Rs 85,032 crore). The NMP does not include land, but lays the road map for monetising brownfield projects where investments have already been made, where a completed asset is languishing or which is not fully utilised, Sitharaman said.
“By bringing private participation, we will be able to monetise these assets better and resources obtained through monetisation would be used for putting further investment into infrastructure building,” she added.
Sitharaman said the asset monetisation programme is aimed at tapping private sector investment for new infrastructure creation, and is necessary for creating employment opportunities, enabling high economic growth, and seamlessly integrating the rural and semi-urban areas for the overall public welfare.
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