Sitharaman calls for attracting pvt investment to develop urban infra

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has stressed the need to augment private-sector partnerships in financing future cities. Addressing the Investors' Dialogue, at GIFT City in Gandhinagar on Sunday, Ms Sitharaman said innovative financing by the private sector in urban infrastructure is imperative for the creation of sustainable and resilient future cities. She said in view of the rapid urbanization, cumulative climate investment needed for cities is estimated to be 29.4 trillion dollars during 2018-2030. The Finance Minister said innovative financing strategies such as blended finances, and payments for ecosystem services, can fill the gap the financing and propel the economic growth of the cities. She also stressed on better policy and regulatory framework to promote public-private partnerships in infrastructure financing.

GIFT International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) has been designated as a special international financial jurisdiction with trusted business regulations, competitive tax structure with focus on ease of doing business.

- Smt @nsitharaman at 'G20 Infrastructure Investors… pic.twitter.com/wF0NDsEntz

— Nirmala Sitharaman Office (@nsitharamanoffc) July 16, 2023

The Investors' Dialogue was organised as part of the 3rd G20 Finance Ministers' and Central Bank Governors' meeting which will begin in Gandhinagar on Monday. Earlier on Sunday, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman and Finance Minister of Indonesia Mulyani Indrawati announced the launch of the “India - Indonesia Economic and Financial Dialogue” on the sidelines of the meeting in Gandhinagar. The initiative aims to strengthen cooperation between the two nations and foster a shared understanding on global issues. 

Addressing a ‘G20 High-Level Tax Symposium on Combating Tax Evasion, Corruption and Money Laundering’ Sitharaman made a case for further strengthening of global architecture to combat financial crimes, money laundering and sharing of information about different asset classes including crypto currencies. Under the G20 Presidency, Sitharaman said, India has taken the lead for building capacity in tax and financial crime investigation in the South Asian region in collaboration with OECD.

(Ira Singh is the Asstt Editor)