The recently cleared Infrastructure Debt Fund (IDF) will be based on a tripartite agreement between developer, lender (bank) and the IDF. The aim is infusing greater funds into infrastructure development in the country. Finance Ministry officials said in New Delhi, loans by the banks would be refinanced by IDF so that the lenders have free funds for more lending. AIR correspondent reports, infrastructure projects are initially funded by banks or a consortium of banks. Such projects require long-term funding of 20-25 years, while bank funding cannot be of horizon beyond 5-7 years. IDF s will provide the long-term funds for the remainder of the life of the project.An IDF may be set up either as a trust or company. A trust based IDF (Mutual Fund) would be regulated by SEBI, while an IDF set up as a company (NBFC) would be regulated by the RBI. The fund would try to garner resources from domestic and off-shore institutional investors, especially insurance and pension funds. The requirement of infrastructure fund in the 12th Plan (2012-17) has been pegged at 1 trillion dollar.