The government has constituted a 10-member committee to be headed by former finance secretary Vijay Kelkar, to revitalise the public private partnership (PPP) mode for infrastructure development. The panel has been entrusted to suggest ways on improving capacity building within the government for effective implementation of PPP projects.
The panel’s terms of reference of the committee include reviewing the experience of PPP policy, analysis of risks involved in such projects in different sectors and existing framework of sharing of such risks between project developer and government. It would also deliberate upon design modifications to contractual arrangements of PPP; examine international best practices as well as institutional context.
Among the other members of the committee are CS Rajan, chief secretary, Rajasthan government; SB Nayar, CMD, IIFCL; Shekhar Shah, director general, NCAER; Pradeep Kumar, MD, CBG, SBI; Vikram Limaye, MD, IDFC; PS Behuria, former IRS and Sudipto Sarkar, Barrister-at-law, Kolkata. It will have a representative, not below the rank of joint secretary, from the road ministry as its member, while Sharmila Chavaly, joint secretary, department of economic affairs, finance ministry will be the member secretary.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech for 2015-16 had made an announcement regarding re-visiting the existing PPP mode to execute such projects. The panel is likely to consult various stake holders in private sector, government sector, legal experts, banking/financial institutions and academia while firming up recommendations. The Committee has been asked to submit its report within three months.