Govt plans $11 billion fund for power sector

Tuesday, Jul 27: The Indian government is planning to create a $11 billion debt fund to bridge a funding shortfall and ease the financing of power sector projects, reported by a government official, on Tuesday, Jul 27.

"The fund is in the process of being formulated," the Mint quoted, power secretary P Umashankar as saying.

The fund would be the latest in a series of recent government measures to overhaul India's creaky infrastructure, long seen as a drag on growth in Asia's third-largest economy.

A separate $11 billion debt fund for infrastructure has already been announced and could be implemented by the end of the year.

The planning commission said in a report that the shortage in the power sector could prevent India from achieving double-digit growth.

The commission predicts India will likely add 62,000 megawatts (MW) of power capacity in the five years to 2012, short of a 78,000mw target.

OneIndia News