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April, 2018
Infrastructure sector is a key driver for the Indian economy. The sector is highly responsible for propelling India’s overall development and enjoys intense focus from Government for initiating policies that would ensure time-bound creation of world class infrastructure in the country. Infrastructure sector includes power, bridges, dams, roads and urban infrastructure development. In 2016, India jumped 19 places in World Bank's Logistics Performance Index (LPI) 2016, to rank 35th amongst 160 countries.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) received in Construction Development sector (townships, housing, built up infrastructure and construction development projects) from April 2000 to December 2017 stood at US$ 24.67 billion, according to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). The logistics sector in India is expected to increase at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 10.5 per cent, from US$ 160 billion in 2017 to US$ 215 billion by 2020.
India has a requirement of investment worth Rs 50 trillion (US$ 777.73 billion) in infrastructure by 2022 to have sustainable development in the country. India is witnessing significant interest from international investors in the infrastructure space. Some key investments in the sector are listed below.
The Government of India is expected to invest highly in the infrastructure sector, mainly highways, renewable energy and urban transport, prior to the general elections in 2019.
The Government of India is taking every possible initiative to boost the infrastructure sector. Some of the steps taken in the recent past are being discussed hereafter.
India’s national highway network is expected to cover 50,000 kilometres by 2019, with around 20,000 km of works scheduled for completion in the next couple of years, according to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
The Government of India is devising a plan to provide wifi facility to 550,000 villages by March 2019 for an estimated cost of Rs 3,700 crore (US$ 577.88 million), as per the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India.
India and Japan have joined hands for infrastructure development in India's north-eastern states and are also setting up an India-Japan Coordination Forum for Development of North East to undertake strategic infrastructure projects in the northeast.
Exchange Rate Used: INR 1 = US$ 0.0155 as of March 04, 2018.