February 16, 2012 / 23:09 IST
The recent steps taken by Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to push reforms in sectors like power, roads and railways will boost investor confidence and help create a positive sentiment, Assocham today said.
Recently, the PMO has been intervening in speeding up decisions and getting environment clearances for projects in roads, railways, construction and power sectors.
This has helped remove the perception of policy paralysis which had affected the economic sentiment, Assocham President Dilip Modi told reporters here.
"I think... you will see corporate India really getting back and feeling confident about investing in these sectors," he said.
Yesterday, in a meeting of Committee of Secretaries, constituted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to look into issues affecting power sector, it was decided Coal India will sign by March-end agreements for supply of fuel to power projects commissioned up to December 2011. Majority of the power generation in the country is from coal.
"It will help not only in achieving power generation capacity targeted in the 12th Plan but also assist in achieving the targeted growth of GDP," the PMO has said in a statement.
The Power Ministry has proposed a target to add 76,000 MW of electricity capacity in the 12th Plan (2012-17).
Last week, the Prime Minister had also reviewed the progress of the railways' ambitious Rs 1 lakh crore Dedicated Freight Corridor project.
He directed the central departments concerned and states to give the project highest priority, a statement by the PMO had said.
The 3300-km long project, which will criss-cross various states, is expected to be a backbone of India's economic transport facility.
Talking about the USD 1 trillion investment target in infrastructure sector during the 12th Five-Year Plan, Modi said, one of the critical aspect for attracting private players for public-private-partnership for the development is to provide an adequate rate of return on the capital deployed.Of this total investment, about 50% is expected to come from private sector, he added.
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