India needs a continued step-up of infrastructure investment over the next two decades: Economic Survey

India needs a continued step-up of infrastructure investment over the next two decades to sustain a high rate of growth, states the Economic Survey 2024-25, presented by Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament today.The Economic Survey states that building infrastructure physical, digital and social - has been a central focus area for the Government in the last five years. This has had various dimensions increase in public spending on infrastructure, creation of institutions to de-bottleneck approvals and execution and innovative modes of resource mobilization. It states that public capital alone cannot meet the demands of upgrading the countrys infrastructure commensurate with the requirements of Viksit Bharat@2047. We need to ensure increasing private participation in infrastructure by improving their capacity to conceptualize projects and their confidence in risk and revenue-sharing mechanisms, contract management, conflict resolution and project closure. The efforts of the Union Government would need to be supplemented with wholehearted acceptance of the need for public-private partnerships in infrastructure across the country, states the Survey. Equally important, the private sector must reciprocate too, adds the survey. The strategy to step up private participation needs coordinated action of all stakeholders involved - governments at different tiers, financial market players, project management experts and planners, and the private sector. Capacities to conceptualise projects, develop sector-specific innovative strategies for execution and develop high-expertise areas such as risk and revenue sharing, contract management, conflict resolution and project closure need to improve substantially.

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