India's Infrastructure Financing: NaBFID Plans Project Data Repository, Enhancing Transparency To Attract Private Investments

To attract more private investments in India's infrastructure growth, the National Bank of Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) plans to establish the country's first data repository — to offer greater transparency and detailed information about new and ongoing infrastructure projects.

In the beginning, data will be collected from banks, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), and infrastructure firms.

Later, information from additional government entities like the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), PM Gatishakti, and other stakeholders will be incorporated into the repository, as per Financial Express report.  

This initiative will attract private investment in the infrastructure sector by offering investors visibility into different stages of a project, enabling them to see a project's progress from start to finish.

NaBFID was established in 2021 by an Act of Parliament (The National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development Act, 2021) to serve as a provider, enabler, and catalyst for infrastructure financing.

Its primary objectives are to address gaps in long-term non-recourse finance for infrastructure development, strengthen the development of bonds and derivatives markets in India, and sustainably boost the country's economy.

“Today we have authentic data for retail and MSME loans because we have credit bureaus but there is no such quality data for the infrastructure sector,” stated Rajkiran Rai G, MD, NaBFID, according to the report.

“For data repository, we want to collect end-to-end data of all infrastructure projects and make it available for all stakeholders of infrastructure developments,” he added.

With the government's heightened emphasis on infrastructure development, lending to infrastructure projects has surged.

Loans to the construction sector have risen by approximately 26 per cent over the past five years, while loans to the infrastructure sector have increased by 31 per cent.

The establishment of this data repository will enhance predictability for lenders, enabling them to anticipate signs of potential stress in projects.

It will further facilitate framing of effective policies by enabling policymakers to assess the performance of various sub-sectors within infrastructure.