NEW DELHI: The government is considering the creation of a National Investment Grid to map business opportunities across the country.The idea is that this may encourage private investment, which has been a laggard. The proposed grid will have details of upcoming projects as well as those that are underway besides land available with the Centre, states, their agencies and public sector undertakings.“Such a grid will place investment opportunities in terms of projects upfront and make it easier for investors to access and explore,” said an official of the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion ( DIPP ), which is discussing the idea with states as part of the Invest India programme.DIPP has been at the forefront of key government initiatives such as Make in India , Start Up India and improving ease of doing business.“It will give a good signal to industry but it has to be supported by a land policy on the part of the state,” said Soumya Kanti Ghosh, chief economic adviser, State Bank of India.The strength of the Invest India team will be trebled to 60 from 20 next month in line with the plan. Invest India has been functioning as a joint venture of DIPP, state governments and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry ( Ficci ), with a mandate to be the first reference point for the global investment community.Accelerated public spending and consumption have been driving growth and while money has been coming from overseas, the government needs domestic investment to rise in order to bolster revival.“FDI (foreign direct investment) growth is a good story but that alone cannot meet the needs of our country. Unless domestic investment picks up, there will be a huge gap in investment required to kickstart the economy,” said the official cited above.The grid will give investors a bird’s-eye view of opportunities available.The states, on the other hand, will have a platform to showcase their industrial and infrastructure development potential. Policy-makers have been concerned that domestic private investment hasn’t picked up despite several steps including faster project clearances and getting stalled projects moving again.The regular monitoring of projects by the finance ministry to ensure that they do not end up as non-performing assets on banks’ books is also underway.The commerce and industry ministry recently held a meeting with industry groups to take stock of issues holding up private investment.The proposed grid will add to steps taken by states to improve ease of doing business, another official said.“Companies recognise the steps taken to improve the business environment,” the person said. “However, there are concerns about the lagging rural economy and fall in demand.”Experts said the government also needs to step in and boost bank credit and help lenders deal with stressed assets if private companies are to be encouraged to invest.“We realise that several steps taken by the government will bear fruit in some time,” said Chandrajit Banerjee, director-general, Confederation of Indian Industry.“India is a bright spot but it is not completely insulated from the weak global economy.”The government will make a worldwide investment pitch for the country’s manufacturing sector as part of the Make in India week, which will be held in Mumbai next month.