As the finance minister Nirmala Sitarama gives final shape to India’s 2022-23 budget, the infrastructure sector in the country is hopeful that the budget retains its emphasis on infrastructure development.
The focus on infrastructure during the last few years saw major infrastructure development projects coming up. The Bharatmala Pariyojana announced in July 31, 2015, which aims to connect 550 district headquarters through four lane roads at a cost of 5.35 lakh crore was the most notable road development project in the recent times, The Pradhan Mantri Gati Sakthi Yojana announced in October, 2021 commencing with the 75th anniversary of independence and the national infrastructure pipeline which lists Rs 111 lakh crore worth infrastructure projects gave a new dimension to the infrastructure development, which created huge job opportunities and spurred investment in many related areas.
The previous infrastructure development projects like National Highway Development Project (NHDP), launched in 1998, The Sagarmala, Dedicated Freight Corridors, Industrial Corridors, UDAN, Bharat Net etc have been subsumed by the Gati Sakthi.
Meanwhile, investors in infrastructure hope that the government will not only continue the focus on infrastructure, but also increase capital expenditure. The logistics sector feels that more funds for developing projects in national infrastructure pipeline and bringing petrol and diesel under GST would help the growth of logistics industry several fold in the next few years. The industry is pinning hope on the proposed multi-modal logistics parks across the country.
Many economic experts and analysts expect the government to increase capital expenditure from 12 to 25 percent in certain sectors. Transport and health care infrastructure are widely expected to get the special attention of the government. The construction industry expects reduction in GST rates on construction materials which could result in spurring the construction activities.
Many in the real estate sector feel that an increase in interest deduction limits on housing loans will help the development of housing sector.
