Bangkok, Oct. 16 -- Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday called for strengthening municipal finances and expanding bond-based funding for urban infrastructure, even as rising borrowing costs make it increasingly challenging for Indian cities to raise money from capital markets.

Speaking at a keynote session titled "Working Together to Make Cities Investable - Mobilising Private Capital for Urban and Water Infrastructure" on the sidelines of the World Bank-IMF Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Sitharaman stressed that cities need stronger revenues, transparent accounts and financially viable projects to attract private investors.

"Municipal bonds can enable cities to mobilise capital market resources for urban infrastructure," s...