Monetize the Urban Multiplier: A Study of India’s National Infrastructure Pipeline and National Monetization Plan

Abstract

India’s infrastructure requirements are fuelled by increasing urbanization, a more significant contribution of urban areas to employment generation, a shift to the services-based economy, and the rising importance of climate change and disaster resilience. The National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) is seen as a foundation for achieving India’s economic goal of becoming a 5 trillion economy by 2024–2025. The National Monetization Plan (NMP) is a vital component to financing the NIP. This research uses content analysis to understand how responsive these two documents are to key factors that drive the growth of India’s infrastructure: urbanization, land availability, incorporating sustainability principles, and involvement of the private sector. It is found that the importance given to these factors in the NIP is not sustained in the NMP, with the consequence that the insights obtained while developing the NIP will not inform a significant effort in its financing. It is useful to set out integrated, risk-informed thinking about the life-cycle of monetization. Strengthening the PPP models of NMP with the appropriate valuation of location in cities, land values, and the risks and constraints represented by sustainability would leverage the urban multiplier.