Recasting India's infra ambitions

In many ways, the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) mimics the five-year planning process of the erstwhile Planning Commission, in that it provides a five-year sector-wise investment plan for the country.

- VINAYAK CHATTERJEE

The NIP was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Independence Day speech in August 2019. To develop the NIP, a high-level task force was constituted under the chairmanship of the secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA).

The task force's final report for the financial years 2021-25 was released by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on April 29, 2020, with a projected infrastructure investment of ₹111 trillion for the five-year period.

With the NIP set to wrap up in March 2025, the time has come to take stock and reshape it for the next five years. The NIP includes projects of more than ₹100 crore each, covering greenfield and brownfield investments.

A review of the NIP's performance reveals both noteworthy achievements and significant sectoral deviations from initial plans. The table summarises the key achievements.

The planned investment envisioned at the start of NIP, and the current method of data presentation and updating is difficult to correlate. The India Investment Grid Portal, which tracks NIP's progress, updates in real time. The planned infrastructure investments now stand at ₹168.93 trillion, compared to the original plan of ₹111 trillion.