The Government should focus on getting rid of implementation bottlenecks such as land acquisition, fuel supply issues and environmental clearances to spur infrastructure development in the country, the Planning Commission Deputy Chairman, Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, has said.
Financing of infrastructure will not be a constraint at the present level of investments, but may turn out to be a problem in the next five years when there is an aspiration to double the level of investments in infrastructure, Mr Ahluwalia said at a national conference on infrastructure finance, organised by Assocham here on Friday.
He said that the biggest challenge is whether Indian banks will be able to bear the debt burden of infrastructure development and how they would tackle the asset-liability mismatches. “We need to be sure that our financial sector has the flexibility to deal with the new forms of challenges.’’
Mr Ahluwalia almost chided India Inc for seeking extension of tax holidays and tax incentives for infrastructure development. “I tend to be less impressed by such demands for tax incentives and exemptions.’’
He also felt that India can attain 9 percent growth levels if it can get its act together and also effectively manage the current account deficit.
“If policies are supportive and regulatory certainties are there in key infrastructure sectors, then there are large pools of capital waiting to be deployed, We have to make sure macro-economic policies are well balanced, overall environment is attractive and implementation bottlenecks are taken care of..’’