Kerala forms expert panel to review, restructure KIIFB

Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 13 (PTI): The Kerala government has constituted a high-level expert committee to undertake a comprehensive review of the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) and recommend a restructuring roadmap to strengthen its long-term sustainability, governance standards and capacity to finance the state’s infrastructure project.

Kerala forms expert panel to review, restructure KIIFB

Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 13 (PTI): The Kerala government has constituted a high-level expert committee to undertake a comprehensive review of the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) and recommend a restructuring roadmap to strengthen its long-term sustainability, governance standards and capacity to finance the state’s infrastructure projects.

According to a government order issued on Monday, the five-member panel has been tasked with examining KIIFB’s institutional, financial, governance and operational framework and suggesting measures to improve its functioning.

"The government has decided to undertake a comprehensive review of the institutional, financial, governance and operational framework of the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) with a view to strengthening its long-term sustainability, improving governance standards and enhancing its capacity to support the State’s infrastructure development,” the order said.

Retired IAS officer Sudha Pillai will head the committee, it said.

The other members are former Federal Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Shyam Srinivasan, former Association of Chartered Accountants of India chairman and KKC & Associates partner Nilesh Vikamsey, retired IA&AS officer and former Audit Board Director in the Comptroller and Auditor General of India H Shubhalakshmi Narayanan, and former Union Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj.

The government has also set up an internal coordination and secretariat mechanism to assist the committee. The additional chief secretary (finance) will serve as the convenor, while Transport Secretary Anupama T V, OSD to the Finance Department Sachin Kumar Yadav, and Thilakan K P K, APS to the chief minister, will be part of the team.

The Finance Department has been authorised to provide officers and supporting staff from the department and the State Planning Board to assist the committee with research, financial analysis, technical inputs and secretarial work, the order said.

The panel may also seek assistance from the Centre for Development Studies (CDS), Thiruvananthapuram, the Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation (GIFT), and other institutions or subject experts if required, it said.

The Finance Department will arrange office space, logistics and administrative support for the panel. Sitting fees, remuneration and other incidental expenses of the chairperson and members will be regulated under existing government norms, the order said.

The committee has been given three months from the date of the government order to submit its report, it added. PTI TGB RHL RHL

(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)