‘Investment norms for NIIF may be tweaked’

The government is looking to tweak the investment norms for National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) to allow investors to co-invest in this sovereign wealth fund as also in the individual projects.

The norms would be tweaked within the broad framework of the investment to take into account suggestions from the domestic and overseas investors, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das said on Thursday.

Mr. Das also expressed hope that the retail inflation would remain at 5 per cent this fiscal, in line with the RBI’s projection, and help India develop into a low-cost economy in terms of lower interest rates, transaction costs and logistics costs.

Speaking to reporters here, Das said India’s economy is likely to grow at 8 per cent this year on account of good monsoon, passage of the GST Bill in Parliament and a slew of reforms being undertaken by the government.

“With a good monsoon, which we expect this year, with the passage of GST, which also the government is very confident that it will happen in the monsoon session of the Parliament, and the cumulative result of all reform measures being taken, this year we are looking at 8 per cent growth,”

Mr. Das said. In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016, the country’s GDP grew at 7.6 per cent. —PTI

The aim is to allow investors to co-invest in NIIF as also in the individual projects