India plans to invest $1.39tr in infrastructure to spur economy

India will unveil a series of infrastructure projects this month as part of a plan to invest 100 trillion rupees ($1.39 trillion) in the sector over the next five years, the finance minister said on Saturday, in a push to improve the country’s economy.

Nirmala Sitharaman’s comments, as cited in local newspapers, followed data released on Friday that showed India’s economic growth slowed to 4.5 percent in the July-September quarter - its weakest pace since 2013 - upping the pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to speed reforms.

“A set of officers are looking into the pipeline of projects that can be readied so that once the fund is ready, it could be front-loaded on these projects,” Sitharaman said at a business summit in Mumbai, the newspapers reported.

 “That task is nearly completed. Before December 15, we will be able to announce frontloading of at least ten projects,” she said.