In the past several years, infrastructure has become a focus sector in the Indian economy and is expected to boost overall development. Infrastructure continues to attract attention not only from the government but also from the international financial institutions (IFIs) and private investors. Infrastructure sector includes power generation and transmission, highways, ports, bridges, dams, industrial zones, railway freight corridors, inland waterways, mega solar parks, port modernisation and urban infrastructure development, which includes projects related to smart cities, metro rail, housing, water supply and sanitation. To push infrastructure development, the government has announced the implementation of mega infrastructure projects such as smart cities, industrial corridors, freight corridors, waterways, Bharatmala, Sagarmala Programme, etc. Several national and international agencies have been estimating the amount of investments required for infrastructure development in India. For instance, as per the estimates by Economic Survey for 2017-18, the country would need around USD 4.5 trillion for its infrastructure by 2040. Global Infrastructure Outlook observes that the cumulative figure for India’s infrastructure investment gap would be around USD 526 billion by 2040. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), climate-smart investment opportunities in infrastructure sectors estimates that between 2018 to 2030 India needs USD 2.2 trillion. Asian Development Bank (ADB) estimated that the cost to address India’s infrastructure deficit is around USD230 billion per year, which when climate-adjusted, would grow to USD 261 billion from 2016-20. Among the various institutions and agencies involved in financing programs in the sector include IFIs such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), International Finance Corporation (IFC), Asian Infrastructure Investment
Bank (AIIB), New Development Bank (NDB). The budgetary allocations from the government for infrastructure projects have been significant as well. In the financial year 2018–19, the Government of India announcements promised to provide a boost to the sector by allocating Rs 5.97 lakh crore (USD 92.22 billion) for the sector. In the financial year 2019–20, two similar announcements were made – the Government of India continued to push the infrastructure sector by allocating Rs 4.56 lakh crore (USD 63.20 billion) for the sector. In FY 2020-21, according to the Revised Estimates, the capital expenditure was pegged at around Rs 4.39 lakh crore, while the Budget Estimate (BE) was Rs 4.12 lakh crore. In the year FY 2021-22, the Government had committed Rs 5.54 lakh crore which translated to an increase of 26% compared to 2020-21 (RE) figures. In union budget 2022-23, the government hiked the capital expenditure budget by 24.47 per cent to Rs 7.5 lakh crore (compared with the Revised Estimate for 2021-22 at Rs 6,02,711 crore), which is almost 2.9 percent of the GDP. Out of Rs 7.50lakh crore, a total of Rs 4.77 lakh crore (around two third) of the total capital outlay going to just three ministries – railways, defence and roads. The following sections discuss some of the major national infrastructure projects that are being implemented:-

  •  PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan
  • National Rail Plan
  •  Maritime India Vision

Read and download the resource here: National Infrastructure Programs in India

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