National Infrastructure Pipeline: Financing Bank to be set up

January 30, 2021

The government is considering to introduce a new bill “National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development Bill, 2021” in the ongoing budget session of the parliament. This bill will be passed with the objective of setting up a new development finance institution (DFI) so as to finance the infrastructure projects.

What is Development Finance Institution (DFI)?

The finance ministry had started working on the structure of a new DFI in the year 2020.
DFI will be a specialized institution to provide funds for the infrastructure projects. The DFI will be backed by government.
The DFI will help in funding the projects under the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP).
The new DFI will act as a provider, enabler and catalyst for infrastructure financing.
It is also the principal financial institution and development bank to build and sustain a supportive ecosystem during the life cycle of the infrastructure projects.

National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP)

NIP is a group of social and economic infrastructure projects. The project has been launched for a period of five years. The project has an initial sanctioned amount of ₹102 lakh crore. The pipeline project was first announced by the Prime Minister of India during the 2019 Independence Day speech.

The Parliament of India

It is the supreme legislative body of India. Parliament is a bicameral legislature that comprises of the President of India and the two houses namely the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. The President being the head of legislature has powers to summon and prorogue either house of Parliament. He has also the power to dissolve the Lok Sabha. However, he can exercise these powers only on the advice of the Prime Minister and his Union Council of Ministers.

Sessions of the Parliament

The period for which the House of the parliament meets to conduct its business is called a session. The Constitution of India has given power to the President to summon each House. The Gap between two sessions of the parliament should not be more than a six-month. Thus, the Parliament must meet at least twice in a year. The Parliament conducts three sessions every year in India: