A nation's infrastructure must be developed if its sectors and overall economy expand. The Indian economy's main engine is the infrastructure sector. As it entails manufacturing and industrial growth, the increased spending in this sector multiplies overall economic growth. This then increases aggregate demand by enhancing living standards.
Electricity, roads, telecommunications, railroads, irrigation, water supply and sanitation, ports, airports, warehousing facilities, and oil and gas pipelines are the main components of the infrastructure sector.
The Budget has rightly emphasized accelerating infrastructure development, in both its physical and digital avatars, as a component of the stockpile upgrade initiatives for delivering a booster dose to revive economic growth.
These initiatives will work together to increase and modernize India's infrastructure stock, speed up the creation of jobs, and rekindle the economy's vitality, all while keeping India's climate change-related objectives in mind.
After an approximately 19.3% increase in May, India's infrastructure output increased 12.7% year over year in June 2022, flagging the second month of double-digit economic expansion.
While the production of crude oil decreased by 1.7%, other commodities saw increases in production, including coal (31.1%), cement (19.4%), electricity (15.5%), refinery products (15.1%), fertilizers (8.2%), steel (3.3%), and natural gas (1.2%). In addition, when April through June is considered, infrastructure output increased by 13.7%.
Following are a few recent government projects and investments in the infrastructure sector:
Under PM Gati Shakti, two lakh km of national highways are expected to be finished by 2024–25. In 2022–2023, the government plans to add 25,000 kilometres to the National Highways Network. All over the nation, NH construction is moving along more quickly. In 2020–21, national highways were built for an average distance of 37 km. The 1,380 km, eight-lane Delhi–Mumbai expressway, which is currently under construction in India, is anticipated to be finished in March 2023.
The Eastern Peripheral Expressway, the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, the Narmada Bridge, the Chenani - Nashri Tunnel, and the Dhaula-Sadia Bridge are among the significant Bharatmala Pariyojana projects that have been finished.
The government established the UDAN program to improve provincial air connectivity from the nation's underserved and unserved airports and lower air travel costs for the general public. 415 routes and 66 airports have been operationalized as part of the program.
The Krishi Udan program helps farmers locate markets for their goods both domestically and abroad. On an annual year-over-year basis, there was a 22.5 per cent increase in the volume of agricultural goods transported under the program in FY 21–22.
From 2018 to 2030, the government has proposed spending Rs. 50,000 crores on rail infrastructure. The Vande Bharat semi-high-speed train was introduced as part of the "Make in India" initiative. By 2025, India will have produced 400 new Vande Bharat trains. On broad gauge lines, all unmanned level crossings have been removed.
The Indian Railways completed 6,015 Route km of electrification in 2020–21, the most in a single year. Compared to the previous seven years (2014–21), electrification increased by more than 5 times. By 2024, Indian railways will be powered by electricity at this rate.
Ninety-nine billion rupees worth of Sagarmala projects have been finished. Since 2014, the capacity for handling cargo has increased by 79%. Major Ports handled 6.94% more traffic during FY 2021–22 than the previous year. As of March 24, Non-Major Ports' capacity, which stood at 689 MTPA until 2014, had risen to 1,224 MTPA.
Until March 31, 2021, 2.817 crore households had electricity installed since the start of Saubhagya. In addition, 4.34 lakh of the 11.84 lakh households with DDUGJY approvals that were made have electricity. A total of 2.86 crore households were electrified as of 24 March 2022.
Although the rate of change in the infrastructure and construction sector has not yet been as rapid as in some other sectors, this is starting to change, and the change will be both significant and unstoppable.
We sincerely hope that this blog has aided you in getting a grasp on the most recent information regarding the Indian infrastructure industry. However, please keep in mind that this blog only provides information. Therefore, before making any financial or investment decisions, kindly conduct your market research.