New Delhi, Aug. 29 -- The finance ministry is drafting a new financing framework to help turn more projects into bankable ventures and widen the pool of funding beyond banks, as India faces an investment requirement of about Rs.150 trillion till fiscal year 2031, according to three people aware of the development. The framework, being prepared in coordination with the department of economic affairs (DEA) and department of financial services (DFS), will seek to accelerate projects from announcement to financial closure by identifying projects with greater economic and strategic relevance, speeding up environmental clearances, and standardizing detailed project reports (DPRs), the people said on condition of anonymity. "A centre of excellence is proposed to develop standardized DPR templates and strengthen internal underwriting capabilities," one of the people said. Progress will be tracked by the number and value of projects identified, shortlisted, and prioritized, and by how quickly prioritized projects move from clearance to financial closure. The framework also proposes monitoring the centre of excellence's role in strengthening underwriting capacity and improving closure rates. The framework also seeks to deepen debt markets through credit enhancement for investment-grade critical projects, greater participation by institutional investors, and a unified request-for-quote (RFQ) mechanism to improve price discovery, a second person said. Key indicators include the volume of credit-enhanced debt and ratings uplift achieved; capital mobilized from institutional investors such as provident funds, insurers, and the employees' provident fund organisation (EPFO); and transaction volumes through the RFQ mechanism, a third person added. According to the government document, India's average annual capex requirement could be around Rs.30 trillion during FY27-31, implying cumulative investment of roughly Rs.150 trillion over the five-year period....