Measures to further improve infrastructure in the country

Measures taken by the Government include

• • To implement an infrastructure program of large scale, the Government of India has launched National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) in 2019, wherein it has planned to invest about INR 102 lakh crores on infrastructure projects by 2024-25.
    • Of the total, INR 102 lakh crore worth projects in NIP, 42% are under implementation, 19% are under development stage and about 31% are in the conceptual stage currently.
    • As per the NIP, the Central and State Government are expected to have equal share of 39% in funding of the projects, whereas Private Sector will have 22% share
  • In 2020, NITI Aayog and Quality Council of India (QCI) launched the ‘National Program and Project Management Policy Framework’ (NPMPF), envisaged to bring radical reforms in the way infrastructure projects are executed in India
  • In 2020, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved three infrastructure proposals worth Rs. 7,725 crore (US$ 1.06 billion) to set up greenfield industrial cities to enhance connectivity to major transportation corridors such as the eastern and western dedicated freight corridors, expressways and national highways.
• In 2020, the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) announced plan to invest US$ 54 million in equity for the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) in India to support the development of critical infrastructure projects
• The government and New Development Bank (NDB) signed a loan agreement worth US$ 1 billion to support rural infrastructure-related activities, natural resource management (NRM) and rural employment generation under MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme)

• Sector specific Initiatives
  • RAILWAYS AND METRO RAIL
    • For 2019-20, the total capital expenditure of railways was expected to be Rs.1.59 trillion
    • As per Union Budget 2020-21, the Ministry of Railways have been allocated   72,216 crore
  • ROADS
    • 2,000 km of coastal connectivity roads have been identified for construction and development.
    • The Government of India will construct 65,000 km of highways by 2022.
    • Bharatmala phase II is going to be launched to develop the state road networks
    • The Government of India invited proposals to install charging infrastructure on major highways and expressways in the country
  • TELECOM
    • 8,350 crore was allocated in Union Budget 2019-20 for creation and augmentation of telecom infrastructure in the country
  • HOUSING
    • In Budget 2017-18, affordable housing was given infrastructure status. “Housing for All” programme was launched in June 2015 to build 20 million urban homes and 30 million rural houses by 2022
  • AIRPORT
    • AAI plans to spend over Rs. 21,000 crore (US$ 3.2 billion) between 2018-22 to build new terminal and expand capacity of existing ones.
    • AAI has developed and upgraded over 23 metro airports in the last 5 years
  • Other recommendation
    • Inject Private Investment
      • The completion of pending projects will take huge amounts of private investment.
      • This can be achieved in two ways:
        • firstly, reviving DBFOT or design, build, finance, operate and transfer mode of any project execution, and
        • secondly, raising investment resources via aggressive asset monetisation
      • Overhaul the Credit Ecosystem
        • Due to rising NPAs and owing to Covid-19, banks have developed cold feet with regard to financing various projects due to high asset liability mismatches and related execution risks.
        • Therefore, in such a scenario, the government needs to either come up with a bond guarantee or enhance credit funds for the projects so that the bond market is rejuvenated to fulfil the financing requirements of the sector.
      • Harness Latest Technologies
        • It is quite surprising how majority large-scale construction projects in India do not employ cutting-edge project management software and tools even now, which are allowing other countries to finish their projects at a much quicker pace.
        • Technologies such as augmented reality (AR), UAV and drones, 3D printing, Internet of Things (IoT) and Building Information Modelling (BIM) come in handy when fast-tracking construction projects.
      • Streamline Priorities
        • It’s important that the government identifies the key programmes and ventures so that it can direct resources to only those, rather than spreading them all over multiple projects.
        • For example, creating Ministry of Jal Shakti, under which the government has committed to supplying piped drinking water to every household by 2024, and which will take over all other programmes connected to the management of water resources.

This efficient approach will help redirect resources from multiple ministries to a singular, tangible, and achievable goal.