New Delhi, Aug. 12 -- The government believes that public capital must act as a catalyst, not a substitute for private investment, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Wednesday.

She said policy measures have been taken to support this principle, citing examples such as viability gap funding (VGF), the hybrid annuity model (HAM), infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs), the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) and PM Gati Shakti.

VGF supports financially constrained but socially desirable projects, HAM ensures balanced risk-sharing in road infrastructure, and credit enhancement mechanisms help improve project bankability, she said while delivering the keynote address at a seminar on 'The Role of the New Development Bank...