AbstractInfrastructure development is one of the pre-requisites for economic development of any nation. Quite often it is considered as an index of economic development of a country. Conceptually, infrastructure development should precede or at least be parallel to pave way for economic development. Finance occupies a significant role in infrastructure development. India, being a democratic country and a mixed economy, the responsibility for infrastructure building primarily rests with the Central Government, State Governments and local bodies. As tax payers’ money in the exchequer is quite insufficient to provide for developmental activities, infrastructure financing in developing nations like India is a crucial problem demanding alternative sources of capital and efforts. In addition to taxes, there are several other sources for infrastructure financing like issue of bonds, finance from institutions like Housing and Urban Development Corporation, Infrastructure Development Finance Company Ltd., Financial Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services, Public Private Partnership (PPP) etc. But, severe scarcity of finance for the development of infrastructure in the country is quite evident. The different States in India with multifarious social, geographical and demographic characteristics have their own different requirements in creating and developing infrastructure. This paper examines the different aspects of infrastructure financing in the Indian context.
Key Words: Infrastructure financing; Infrastructure development; Infrastructure finance sources;Indian infrastructure financing; Indian infrastructure growth.