Thirty-four stuck projects are expected to restart following the Indian government’s go-ahead given to the National Highway Authority to extend concessionary support to road developers for implementation delays, noted the Singapore-based banking group, DBS.
In a similar vein, railway infrastructure projects in four states were also given the go-ahead, it noted in a commentary on India in its daily bulletin on November 18, 2015.
Next, as a positive for fiscal consolidation efforts, divestment plans will get a boost from the proposed 10% stake in the country’s largest mining company, Coal India.
This stake sale will be able to single-handedly raise close to half of the public-sector units’ divestment target and nearly a third of the overall privatization target of INR 695 billion (0.5% of GDP), it noted.
Thirdly, as a support to the exports-oriented industries, the interest rate subvention scheme was restored, which will be applicable for five years since the start of this fiscal year.
Finally, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects worth INR 18 billion were approved. “More such action is likely in the coming months after regulations in about 15 sectors earlier this month,” observed the bank.
The measures had included an increase in some sectoral FDI caps, raising the single-window clearance ceiling and easing the sourcing norms, amongst others.
Alongside these piecemeal measures, an eye will also be kept on how the tougher reforms pan out.
Passage of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), bankruptcy law and land acquisition (if re-visited) has become key barometers of the government’s ability to push through legislative changes, it pointed out
Amongst these much attention is on the GST constitutional amendments, where some softening of stance is expected, it said. fii-news.com
