The infrastructure sector is a key driver of the Indian economy. The Indian government places a strong emphasis on this sector as it is crucial to India's overall growth and helps to ensure that world-class infrastructure is built in the nation on schedule. Power, bridges, dams, highways, and urban infrastructure development are all included in the infrastructure industry. The Indian government is trying to create an intense push through policies to ensure world-class infrastructure in India, making it India's new identity. For example, India is undertaking major infrastructure and industrial projects worth $ 1.3 trillion approx.
Between April 2000 and December 2021, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the construction development (townships, housing, built-up infrastructure, and construction development projects) and construction (infrastructure) activity sectors totalled $ 26.17 billion and $ 26.30 billion, respectively, according to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). Infrastructure-related operations made about 13 per cent of the $ 81.72 billion total FDI inflows in the financial year (FY) 2021. India's infrastructure is anticipated to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of almost 7 per cent during the forecast period.
Highway construction would be done, with 2,500 km of access control highways, 9,000 km of economic corridors, 2,000 km of coastline and land port roads, and 2,000 km of strategic highways among the highways that would be built. The FASTag system promotes greater highway commercialisation, allowing the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to raise more funds. Before 2024, it was projected to monetise at least 12 lots of roadway bundles totalling more than 6,000 km. The government has set aside INR 1,963,943 crore in the budget for road infrastructure.
The PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, which includes implementation, monitoring, and support mechanisms, was approved by the Indian Union Cabinet in October 2021. As a part of this plan, the government launched a geospatial platform like remote sensing to facilitate projects, including telecom networks and gas pipelines in roads and railways. Road and railway infrastructure are the most crucial of all public resources because they promote economic interaction between big cities and the towns they connect. Because of this connectivity, economic activity can expand, helping underdeveloped areas catch up and promote equitable and balanced growth.
The government-sponsored National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) received a funding commitment of $ 100 million from the multilateral Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 2020. India needs foreign investments to rebuild its infrastructure, ports, airports, and motorways, to spur economic growth. Infrastructure is one of the industries that receive the most foreign direct investment (FDI). Between the financial years (FY) 2000 and (FY) 2019, inflows in the verticals of townships, construction development projects, and housing were estimated at $ 25.5 billion. The "Smart Cities Mission" and "Housing for All" programmes have benefited from these initiatives. Saudi Arabia seeks to spend up to $ 100 billion in India in energy, petrochemicals, refinery, infrastructure, agriculture, minerals, and mining.
Initiatives:
India, the United States (US), Israel, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) launched a new quadrilateral economic forum in November 2021 to concentrate on regional infrastructure development projects and improve bilateral cooperation. With the introduction of the "Infrastructure for the Resilient Island States" programme in November 2021, India played an important role in improving the lives of other vulnerable nations around the globe regarding climate change. For example, awareness regarding aspects of disaster and climate resilience of infrastructure was shared. It helped to create a mechanism to assist countries in upgrading their capacities and practices in infrastructure development regarding risk and economic conditions. Road building would be accelerated in the financial year (FY) 2022 by government efforts like the National Infrastructure Pipeline, in which around 217 projects under infrastructure ministries were completed. National Monetization Pipeline, Bharatmala Pariyojana, and modifications to the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) were also started. The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) also created Guinness World Record by completing the construction of 75km of continuous bituminous concrete road in a single lane in less than five days. The Indian government announced road projects in September 2021 to build Jammu and Kashmir's road infrastructure for $ 13.48 billion. The number of national highways in the region also increased, going from 7 in 2014 to 11 in 2021.
India will likely have faster infrastructure growth due to the government prioritising infrastructure for overall economic development. Gati Shakti, for example, is an extensive "productivity" booster programme for the infrastructure industry. This project will aid in removing the significant delays caused by the abundance of approvals and slowly processed clearances. Additionally, given the endless possibilities, engaging private enterprises in national infrastructure projects may aid India in raising its infrastructure to world levels.
The Government of India's primary area of attention is the infrastructure sector. India intends to invest $ 1.4 trillion in infrastructure between 2019 and 2023 to achieve sustainable national development. Since 2019 many road infrastructures, gas pipeline initiatives and industrial development have taken place. For the period 2018 to 2030, the government has recommended investing $ 750 billion in railway infrastructure. Despite the hardships nations face in the pandemic, the Indian infrastructure sector has shown remarkable growth, setting up records and helping in the growth of economic activity in India.
This has been co-authored by Bhakti Jain and Ishita Dhar.
