The Economic Survey 2024-25 stated today that India requires sustained investment in infrastructure over the next two decades to maintain a high rate of economic growth. The survey also highlighted that public investment alone will not be sufficient to meet the country’s future infrastructure needs.

“India needs a continued increase in infrastructure investment over the next two decades to sustain a high growth rate. The requirements are extensive. Accelerating efforts to build integrated multi-modal transport networks, alongside the modernisation of existing physical assets, will enhance efficiency and last-mile connectivity,” the Economic Survey noted.

“Disaster-resilient urbanisation, public transport, preservation and maintenance of heritage sites, monuments, and tourist destinations, as well as rural public infrastructure, including connectivity, require greater attention. Our Net Zero commitments add further pressure to expand renewable energy capacity. Clearly, public sector efforts alone cannot meet these requirements, given the budget constraints faced by different tiers of government,” the survey pointed out.

Limited Private Participation in Core Infrastructure

The survey expressed concerns over the low level of private sector participation in core infrastructure sectors. “Private participation must accelerate across multiple critical infrastructure areas, including programme and project planning, financing, construction, maintenance, monetisation, and impact assessment,” the Economic Survey stated.

“Our infrastructure programme supports various Public-Private Partnership (PPP) models, such as Build-Operate-Transfer (toll and annuity), Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Transfer, Hybrid Annuity Model, and Toll-Operate-Transfer. The government has introduced several mechanisms to address bottlenecks and facilitate progress, including the National Infrastructure Pipeline, the National Monetisation Pipeline, and PM Gati Shakti. Financial market regulators have also implemented reforms to encourage private sector participation. However, private sector involvement remains limited in several core infrastructure segments,” it added.

“The strategy to enhance private participation requires coordinated action among all stakeholders, including governments at various levels, financial market players, project management experts, planners, and the private sector,” the Economic Survey concluded.