Funds raise Rs 20,000 cr in last 3 years to invest in the sector. Infrastructure projects seem to have emerged as a hot favourite of private equity (PE) players this year. So far in 2010, there have been 19 deals in the infrastructure sector, involving an investment of close to Rs 5,000 crore, according to Venture Intelligence data. In the same period last year, there were 14 deals with a cumulative value of around Rs 1,200 crore. The heightened interest pans across the sector. From such known players as GMR Energy, which received a $200-million (around Rs 900-crore) investment from the Singapore government-owned Temasek Holdings, to little-known Azure Power, anyone with a good business model and potential to grow seems to be in line to received capital. And to meet the rising infrastructure demand for maintaining the India growth story, global investors like 3i and JP Morgan and domestic players like the PE fund promoted by State Bank of India are ready with resources to be deployed. According to industry estimates, funds have raised over Rs 20,000 crore during the last three years for investment in the sector. […]