<p class="p1">Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) online dashboard through video conferencing.</p>
<p class="p1">An official statement said the online dashboard is envisaged as a one-stop solution for all the stakeholders looking for information on infrastructure projects.</p>
<p class="p1">The dashboard is being hosted on the India Investment Grid (IIG) site — <a href="http://www.indiainvestmentgrid.gov.in/">www.indiainvestmentgrid.gov.in</a>.</p>
<p class="p1">IIG is an interactive and dynamic online platform that showcases updated and real-time investment opportunities in the country.</p>
<p class="p1">Speaking at the event, Sitharaman said, "NIP will provide a boost to the vision of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'. The availability of NIP projects on IIG will ensure easy accessibility to updated project information and attract investors for PPP projects. This is a great step in the direction of implementing NIP, giving a fillip to infrastructure development in the country".</p>
<p class="p1">In her budget speech of 2019-2020, the Finance Minister had announced an outlay of Rs 100 lakh crore for infrastructure projects over the next five years.</p>
<p class="p1">A high-level task force had submitted a final report on the National Infrastructure Pipeline with projected infrastructure investment of Rs 111 lakh crore during FY 2020-25.</p>
<p class="p1">According to the government, the NIP will improve project preparation, attract investments, both domestic and foreign, into infrastructure, and will be crucial for attaining the target of becoming a $5 trillion economy by FY2025. NIP covers both economic and social infrastructure projects based on the updated HarmonizedMaster List of Infrastructure.</p>
<p class="p1">Out of the total expected capital expenditure of Rs 111 lakh crore, projects worth Rs 44 lakh crore (40 per cent) are under implementation, while projects worth Rs 33 lakh crore (30 per cent) are at a conceptual stage.</p>
<p class="p1">Further, projects worth Rs 22 lakh crore (20 per cent) are under development — project identified and DPR prepared, but yet to draw-down funds — and the balance projects worth Rs 11 lakh crore (10 per cent) are unclassified.</p>
<p class="p1">The entire gamut of projects will now be hosted on IIG to provide visibility to NIP and attract investments from global and domestic investors, said the Finance Ministry statement.</p>
<p class="p1">Sitharaman has asked all concerned departments and ministries to immediately update the status of the projects on the NIP portal and keep it updated in real-time. She has also asked all concerned departments and ministries to show concrete progress in terms of project and reforms implementation, as per the statement.</p>.