The Union Government announces the Economic Survey 2023-24. They key highlights of the survey are as follows:
In the roads and bridges sector, the government capex and private sector capital investment rose to 1.0 per cent of the GDP (Rs 3.01 trillion) in 2023-24 from 0.4 per cent in 2014-15. Funds from asset monetisation have exceeded Rs 1 trillion since 2018-19, with the highest-ever asset monetisation revenues of Rs 403 billion achieved in 2023-24. The national highway (NH) network has increased by 1.6 times from 2014 to 2024. The average pace of NH construction tripled from 11.7 km/day in 2013-14 to 34 km/day in 2023-24. Further, a proactive policy for NH maintenance has been adopted by engaging a contractual maintenance agency for each km of the entire NH network. About 37,500 km of NH network has been taken up under performance-based maintenance contracts and short-term maintenance contracts.
The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) awarded six multi-modal logistics parks (MMLPs) until 2023-24 and allocated Rs 25.05 billion for MMLPs in 2023-24, with seven more planned to be awarded during 2024-25. About 900 wayside amenities (WSAs) have been planned. Around 322 WSAs have been awarded, of which 50 are operational, and 162 WSAs were awarded in 2023-24 alone. Moreover, toll digitisation reduced waiting times at toll plazas from 734 seconds in 2014 to 47 seconds in 2024, with free flow tolling initiated through automatic number plate recognition and the global navigation satellite system. Under the Parvatmala Pariyojana, six ropeway projects have been awarded to enhance religious and tourist connectivity, while bids have been received for two more projects. The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) witnessed 829,409 km of road length being sanctioned, of which 763,308 km completed as on June 18, 2024, entailing an expenditure of Rs 3.23 trillion (including state share).
In the railways sector, the Indian Railways (IR) registered passenger traffic of 6.73 billion during 2023-24, an increase of 5.2 per cent as compared to the last year. It achieved revenue earning freight of 1,588 million tonnes (mt) during 2023-24 (excluding Konkan Railway Corporation Limited), which is 5.3 per cent higher than the last year. It also achieved a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.1 per cent on freight loading between the period from 2019-20 to 2023-24. Capital expenditure of Rs 2.62 trillion was recorded during 2023-24, which is 77 per cent higher than Rs 1.48 trillion achieved in 2019-20. Huge investment was done in the area of new lines, gauge conversions and doubling.
A total of 102 Vande Bharat trains were launched till March 2024. During 2023-24, a cumulative 82 Vande Bharat trains were introduced. The coach production registered for Vande Bharat trains during the same period was 456 units. Further, Vande Bharat metro trains are expected to be launched during 2024-25. These trains will have various amenities such as a fire detection system, route map system among others. Furthermore, Vande Bharat sleeper trains which are long distance trains are under construction. Till March 31, 2024, a total of 77 Gati Shakti Multi Modal Cargo terminals (GCT) have been commissioned along with in-principle approval has been given for 186 locations on non-railway land. Focusing on safety, a total of 443 stations have been facilitated with electronic interlocking (EI) systems during 2023-24. And till March 31, 2024, the EI system has been implemented at 3,424 stations. Further, Automatic block signalling (ABS) has been deployed on 582 route km (rkm) of networks during 2023-24. And till March 31, 2024, total 4,431 rkm of high-density network routes have been deployed with ABS. The indigenously built automatic train protection (ATP) system Kavach has been installed on 1,465 rkm of South Central Railway’s (SCR) networks.
Electrification of 5,594 rkm was achieved annually during 2019 to 2024 period. Also, total 27,968 rkm of the networks have been electrified in this period. The average daily electrification of 15.3 rkm was registered during 2019-24. Cumulative 25,871 km of tracks have been commissioned during 2014-23 period, which includes new line, multi-tracking and gauge conversions. Also, an average track laying of 7.88 km per day was achieved during this period. Approximately 231 megawatts (MW) of solar power plants which includes both rooftop and land have been commissioned till March 2024. The wind power plants of 103 MW capacity have been deployed. IR has digitised its locomotives, wagons and coach maintenance through applications like locomotive asset management, coaching management system and freight wagon management system software. Also, the finance system of IR is information technology (IT) enabled. It also implemented Wi-fi facility at total 6,108 stations.
In the aviation sector, there is a huge potential stemming from rising demand, increased economic activity, tourism, larger disposable incomes, favourable demographics, and greater penetration of aviation infrastructure in addition to progressive government policies like the RCS UDAN. Factors like the increase in aircraft leasing, hiring, and a positive growth outlook in the medium to long-term have contributed to the aviation sector witnessing a notable year-on-year growth of 56 per cent in the credit inflow.
The economic survey also highlights India’s great potential for the MRO industry. The demand for aircraft is projected to increase to more than 2,200 aircraft by 2042. Aircraft leasing is also being promoted through the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), that has already seen more than 28 aircraft lessors registered and have leased more than 20 aircraft and 49 aircraft engines in total. Further, since 2014, the number of airports in the country have more than doubled. Going forward, there is a need to expand and upgrade existing airports and add new ones.
In the ports and shipping sector, the capacity at major ports has nearly doubled since 2014. The Ministry for Ports, Shipping and Waterways estimates total port capacity to increase from 2,600 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to more than 10,000 mtpa in 2047. Besides, 86.5 million metric tonnes (mmt) of cargo movement took place through waterways during April to November period of FY 2023-24 as compared to 80.4 mmt of cargo during the corresponding period of FY 2022-23, an increase of 7.5 per cent. The gross tonnage (GT) through coastal shipping has increased from 1.19 million GT consisting of 846 vessels to 1.72 million GT with 1,039 vessels as on 1, April 2024.
Under the Sagarmala Programme, 262 projects worth Rs 1.4 trillion have been completed, while 217 projects worth Rs 1.65 trillion are under implementation and 360 projects worth Rs 2.7 trillion are under development. Improved connectivity through coordinated planning under the PM Gati-Shakti National Master Plan and focusing on public-private partnerships have enhanced India’s maritime competitiveness globally. India’s rank in the International Shipments category in the World Bank Logistics Performance Index has improved from 44th in 2014 to 22nd in 2023. The container turnaround time has declined by 50 per cent between 2014 and FY 2023-24.
In the urban infrastructure sector, 945 km of metro rail and regional rapid transit system (RRTS) lines are operational with an additional 939 km of network under construction, across 27 cities. Around 86 km of metro rail and RRTS lines became operational during FY 2023-24, and daily ridership reached 10.1 million as of March 2024. Indian Railways is planning to introduce Vande metro trainset coaches equipped with sealed wider gangways, centrally controlled automatic sliding doors, CCTVs for safety and surveillance, route map indicators, passenger information and infotainment systems, fire detection systems, and aerosol-based fire suppression systems. The first batch of these advanced trainsets is expected to be rolled out in FY 2024-25.
Furthermore, during the financial year 2023-2024, more than 280,000 villages were covered with grey water management and around 160 districts were initiated with faecal sludge management arrangements under Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen (SBM-G). Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, out of around 193 million rural households at the time of inception of the mission in 2019, only 32.3 million rural households (17 per cent) had provision of tap water connection. This has now increased to around 149 million rural households (around 77 per cent). It also highlights the importance of building a culture of water reuse through individual behaviour change and mandating design specifications for structures like rainwater harvesting. Governments should mandate water-efficient technologies and reexamine water-wasting ones like reverse osmosis water machines and single-flush toilets.
In the telecom sector, according to the survey, India is amongst the fastest growing 5G networks in the world, and its international rank on mobile broadband speeds has decreased from 118 to 15 in March 2024, post the launch of 5G services. The survey highlighted that the telecom technology development requires significantly large and patient capital for research and development (R&D), commercialisation and to bolster India’s position in the global telecom sector. To address this, the government has decided to allocate 5 per cent annual collections from the Universal Services Obligation Fund (USOF) to fund R&D in the telecom sector, which is the gateway to accelerate the development of future technologies.
It mentioned that India’s overall tele density (number of telephones per 100 population) has increased from 75.2 per cent in March 2014 to 85.7 per cent in March 2024. Meanwhile, the number of wireless telephone connections stood at 1.165 billion as of March 31, 2024. Moreover, 6,83,175 kms of optical fibre cable have been laid, connecting 2,06,709 gram panchayats in phases I and II. In addition, as per Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF), there has been a significant participation from start-ups, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), academia and industry. Further, the survey highlighted that while India may not be an immediate beneficiary of the trade diversion from China, it has witnessed a substantial increase in electronic exports over time with production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme being a key driver.
The survey added that the domestic production of electronic items increased significantly to Rs 822 billion, while exports rose to Rs 190 billion in FY23. Further, Apple assembled $ 14 billion worth iPhones in India during FY24, constituting 14 per cent of its global iPhone production. Furthermore, the share of electronics goods in merchandise exports of India increased to 6.7 per cent in FY24 as compared to 2.7 per cent in FY19. India’s electronic exports to the US have transitioned from a trade deficit of $ 0.6 billion in FY17 to a trade surplus of $ 8.7 billion in FY24. Besides, it also added that substantial manufacturing capacities have been established in India over the past five years and many major foreign and domestic companies have either established their own manufacturing facilities or have outsourced manufacturing to electronics manufacturing services companies operating in India. Moreover, India ranks second globally in telecommunication, computer, and information services exports, further cementing its position as a key player in the digital economy.
In the renewable energy sector, according to the survey, 190.57 GW of renewable energy capacity has been installed in the country. Out of the total installed capacity in the year, renewable energy accounted for 43.12 per cent of total installation. In the last ten years, there was an investment of Rs 8.5 trillion in the renewable energy sector. Expected clean energy investment in the next six years stands at Rs 30.5 trillion. This will cause a significant increase in employment in the energy sector.
In addition, the Economic Survey 2023-24 stated that India’s power transmission system operates on a single grid with a unified frequency and can transfer up to 118,740 MW. This system is becoming one of the largest interconnected electricity grids globally. By March 31, 2024, the transmission infrastructure has grown to include 485,544 circuit km of transmission lines and 1,251,080 MVA of transformation capacity. The Indian government has intensified its efforts to improve the electricity sector to meet the growing demand for power in the country. The peak electricity demand rose by 13 per cent to 243 GW in the financial year 2023-24. The Economic Survey highlights that the most significant increase in electricity generation during this period came from renewable energy sources used by utilities.
Since the inception of the Saubhagya scheme in October 2017, a total of 28.6 million households have been connected to electricity through various programmes. Additionally, the implementation of the Electricity (late payment surcharge and related matters) Rules, 2022 has provided relief to power distribution companies, electricity consumers, and generating firms, as indicated in the survey. The government press release states that according to the National Electricity Plan, the current non-fossil fuel capacity is approximately 203.4 GW out of the total installed capacity of 441.9 GW in 2023-24. It is estimated to increase to 349 GW in 2026-27 and 500.6 GW in 2029-30.