The central government on Wednesday announced a contest seeking to crowdsource a name, logo and tagline for the new Development Financial Institution (DFI).

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in a tweet said the winners of the contest in each category will be awarded up to Rs 5 lakh. The last date for sending in entries is August 15.

The contest has been organised by the finance ministry in association with citizen engagement platform MyGovIndia.

.@FinMinIndia in association with @mygovindia is announcing a contest to crowdsource the name, tagline and logo of the new Development Financial Institution. Cash prizes of up to Rs 5 lakh in each category! Last date for entries is 15.08.2021. https://t.co/uK5AojlWlB (1/2)

— NSitharamanOffice (@nsitharamanoffc) July 28, 2021

MyGovIndia said that all the entries will be evaluated on the basis of creativity, vibrancy and the ability to connect with the theme, citizens and all the stakeholders. It should also reflect the spirit of new India as the country gears up to celebrate ‘Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsava’ with India@75, it further added.

Finance Minister Sitharaman while presenting the Union Budget in February had announced the plans of creating a DFI, which will cater exclusively to funding infrastructure projects by providing long-term finance. The National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) Bill 2021 was passed by both Houses of Parliament in March. The government also plans to pump in Rs 111 lakh crore under the National infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) on over 7,000 infrastructure projects by the end of 2024-25. Sitharaman had also said that a professionally managed DFI that acts as a provider, enabler and catalyst for financing infrastructure was need of the hour.

The government had asserted that the DFI will not elbow out other lenders, instead crowd them in, and it won’t do everything itself. Operations of the DFI, apart from providing credit and credit-plus services, will involve risk mitigation, product innovation, accessing green and ethical funds and helping to develop a vibrant bond market, said the citizen engagement platform.

The DFI, backed with Rs 20,000 crore funding from the government is projected to leverage finance close to Rs 3 lakh crore for long-term infrastructure projects. Initially, the government is expected to set up a fully-owned DFI and gradually dilute its stake to 26 percent.

As per the official plan, it will comprise a professional board, half of which will be non-official directors. According to a Hindustan Times report, some of the positions on the board including the chairmanship will be held by persons of eminence and the board will hold the power to remove even whole-time directors.

(Edited by : Bivekananda Biswas)

First Published:Jul 28, 2021 4:08 PM IST