Govt funding on its own won't suffice for infra: P R Jaishankar, MD, IIFCL

With the government deciding to have development financial institutions (DFIs) and subsuming India Infrastructure Finance Company (IIFCL) into a new entity, Jyoti Mukul spoke to IIFCL managing director P R Jaishankar on the challenges in infrastructure financing. Edited Excerpts:  

With the government focusing on the National Infrastructure Pipeline in the Budget, how crucial is it to address the financing challenges?

Infrastructure as an engine of growth is primary to our economy. NIP requires an investment of Rs 111 trillion over 2020-25. A huge amount of 23-27 per cent has to come from banks and financial institutions. Even with all envisaged sources of funds, there remains a gap of 8-10 per cent in funding the NIP, which has to be filled,