National Infra Pipeline: FM reviews projects

The Finance Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman, recently held a meeting to review the progress of 34 projects under the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) in the health and water resources sectors involving investments of Rs 3.6 lakh crore. The Finance Ministry informed media sources that 24 of these projects worth Rs 80,915 crore are under the supervision of the Health Ministry, while the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, oversees 10 large projects worth Rs 2.7 lakh crore.According to the ministry's statement, substantial progress in project implementation and expenditure by many ministries and departments has been noted, especially in the second quarter. This was the second assessment meeting held by the Finance Minister with various ministries and departments to monitor and accelerate the NIP project implementation. The meeting's objective was to discuss the progress of NIP projects, expenditure incurred so far, and the initiatives that were taken to expedite the project implementation, the ministry said its statement. The economy is expected to shrink 7.7% in 2020-21, according to latest reports, and a government task force had drawn up a road map in April for capital investments of Rs 111 lakh crore in infrastructure under the NIP for six years (through FY25), pledging 71% of the expenditure for energy, roads, urban development and railways, keeping in mind, a key role for private investors.