Govt mulls infrastructure trust fund

The Union government is mulling to set up an infrastructure trust fund by next November. The fund will be on the lines of fiscal funds set up by real estate investment trusts in Singapore and some other countries. In India, infrastructure sector has been struggling for the past few years due to lack of investments since banks have been wary of lending due to policy constraints. The government has taken note of this and is looking to improve investments in the infrastructure sector. Under the infrastructure trusts, the underlying revenue of a project will be transferred to a trust, which will issue units to investors, including foreign investors who want to buy the units.
The government is looking to set up an infrastructure trust fund in two months to ensure long-term management of infrastructure projects, top officials of the Union Department of Economic Affairs said.