'Scope for foreign investment in Indian infrastructure'

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New York, May 15: : in infrastructure spending over the next five years and close to half of it would to come from the private sector to maintain the current rate of growth and to bring millions of people out of poverty.

Of this, India would need USD 130 billion for power, USD 66 billion for railways, USD 49 billion for highways, USD 11 billion for ports, USD 9 billion for civilian aviation and USD 55 billion for other sector.

To encourage private sector, the report said government has been dismantling long-standing barriers and actively encouraging private investment in big public sector projects.

"The government is helping private sector developers by lowering their risk in road projects. Telecom and aviation sectors have demonstrated that introduction of private capital introduces discipline and leads to remarkable results even within very short term," it said.

Releasing the 227-page report which discusses the opportunities available in various sectors for private investors, Consul General Neelam Deo urged entrepreneurs to study it thoroughly to grasp the huge opportunities that India offers.

In his address, noted economist Prof Raghuram G Rajan of the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business stressed on the need for continuing reforms of the financial institutions and said that it should be ensured that the poor are not left out system.

He suggested small charter banks working alongside big financial institutions to help the poor get faster loans and ensure that they do not run, as to currently do, to money lenders who charge huge interest.