Latest News | Infrastructure Finance Secretariat Holds Infrastructure Outreach Workshop

New Delhi, May 25 (PTI) The Infrastructure Finance Secretariat (IFS), Department of Economic Affairs under the finance ministry, in partnership with the Madhya Pradesh government, conducted the infrastructure outreach workshop.

The two-day workshop concluded on Thursday at Bhopal.

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This is the fourth workshop in a series of outreach workshops planned with state governments and Union Territories and key central infrastructure ministries, with the objective of understanding ground issues faced by project sponsoring authorities in undertaking large infrastructure projects, the ministry said in a statement.

The workshop was inaugurated by the chief guest Ajit Kesari, Additional Chief Secretary – Finance, government of Madhya Pradesh, who emphasised on a long-term vision for infrastructure development by understanding the needs and aspirations of citizens and prioritising the identified needs, it said.

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Challenging available models and looking for alternatives is important for optimal utilisation of resources, the ministry statement said.

The workshop saw participation from over 60 senior officials from the state governments of Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu as well as senior officials from key central infrastructure ministries, including Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW).

The theme of the workshop was centred around discussions on focus areas for infrastructure development and its financing, it said.

Challenges and possible solutions and the need to encourage private participation in infrastructure development were discussed, it said.

Economic Affairs Joint Secretary Baldeo Purushartha informed about the Infrastructure Project Development Fund (IIPDF) and Viability Gap Funding (VGF) schemes of government of India to support project sponsoring authorities in project preparation and bridging the financial gap for making infrastructure projects viable.

The first day of the workshop saw a panel discussion on urban and social infrastructure and need for a PPP policy for states, which was followed by sessions on implementation of GatiShati National Master Plan by BISAG-N, National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) by Invest India and DEA, the statement said.

The ongoing capacity building initiatives being carried out in partnership with premier institutes were also highlighted, it said.

The second day was focused on resource mobilization and infrastructure financing, it said, adding, sessions on project financing through term loans and patient capital as well as emerging alternate finance structured instruments like municipal bonds and InvITs were discussed during the workshop.

The aim of the workshop was to bring together government officials of the Centre and states, private sector experts and academicians associated with the infrastructure sector on a common platform to initiate dialogue between Centre and state governments by spreading awareness on various schemes, financial instruments and trends in infrastructure in india.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)