India Inc lauds set up of DFI

Applauding the cabinet approval on Government of India setting up a Development Finance Institution (DFI), Dr. Niranjan Hiranandani, National President, NAREDCO stated that, “In last couple of years, infrastructure projects across India lacked access to the long term financing which was imperative to meet the objective of development and financing. The huge quantum of infrastructure growth which is in the pipeline requires a specialized finance institution, which would support the infrastructure projects with long term financing. Earlier institutions like IDFC and ICICI got morphed into commercial banking entities, and were more exposed to retail lending.”

“With a slew of mega infra projects scripted into India’s economic growth story, and given the Government of India’s desire to create a National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) of Rs 111 trillion, to be spent on over 7,000 projects by 2024-25, the Union Cabinet’s decision clearing the setting up of the DFI is a step in a right direction,” he added.

The DFI will not just accelerate infrastructure funding in the economy; but also play a crucial role in revitalizing the economy post the pandemic. It is a much needed move to set up DFI that will ensure creation of an important institution which will provide collaborative efforts in funding and financing long term infrastructure projects, needed for economic growth and also to achieve PMO’s  target of India becoming a $ 5 trillion economy,” he concluded.