The Macquarie-SBI Infrastructure Fund (MSIF) is the newly-announced joint venture of India's biggest lender State Bank of India (SBI) and the largest Australian investment bank Macquarie Group Ltd., which has raised $1 billion for investment in ports and power plants in India.

The SBI-Macquarie joint venture MSIF also boasts of the participation of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector lending arm of the World Bank, as a minority shareholder and keystone investor.

Infrastructure companies could well see an upside to their margins after the reduction in prices of steel and cement. Last week, steel manufacturers cut the price of steel by Rs 400-600 a tonne to about Rs 28,000 and cement makers have reduced the cost of bulk cement by Rs 4-5 per 50-kg bag to Rs 225-245. The moves follow the reduction in the central excise duty from 10% to 8% on February 24.

Hyderabad-based IVRCL Infrastructures and Projects Ltd (IVRCL) has notified that it has bagged seven projects worth Rs 670.03 crore from different agencies for construction related works.

The company picked first order worth Rs 332.55 crore from Narmada Development Division in Madhya Pradesh for the execution of Lower Goi project in the state.

Under the project, the company will construct dam, canals and its distribution network for irrigation purpose in the state in a period of four years.

Subhash Projects And Marketing Ltd (SPML), an infrastructure development company in India, has secured an order worth Rs 69.37 crore from the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board, Karnataka.

The scope of work includes supply and execution of 1,168 mm diameter M. S. Rising Main from Jack well at Saundatti to Water Treatment Plant at Amminabhavi.

In addition, the project involves design, construction, supply, installation, testing, commissioning, trial run and maintenance of 68 million litres a day capacity water treatment plant for a period of 12 months.

GMR Infrastructure Ltd announced on Wednesday that its unit GMR Energy, through its subsidiaries, has bought Indonesia's PT Barasentosa Lestari.

In a disclosure to the Bombay Stock Exchange, the group said that said it has acquired 100 per cent stake in Indonesia-based PT Barasentosa Lestari through its wholly-owned subsidiary, GMR Energy, for an undisclosed amount.

It further added that the Indonesian firm holds a license providing a 30-year mining authorization over two coal blocks in the country.

New Delhi, Feb 16: The corpus of the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF), which is the main instrument of the Government to channelise bank funds for financing rural infrastructure, has been increased from Rs. 5,500 crore in 2003-04 to Rs. 14,000 crore for the year 2008-09 ensuring greater availability of funds for its activities.

This was stated by, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, while presenting the Interim Budget 2009-2010 in the Lok Sabha here today.

He also added that a separate window for rural roads was created under RIDF with a corpus of Rs. 4,000 crore for each of the last three years.