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Editorial

February 2023

The 2022-23 Budget has the highest ever allocations for the railways, with Rs 2.41 trillion assigned as central support. This is 49 per cent higher than the revised estimate of Rs 1.62 trillion for 2022-23. […]

Editorial

October 2022

Although there has been a slowdown across the road sector in 2022-23, there have also been positive developments. Financial models have stabilised and funding constraints eased. Smarter construction methods allied to use of better equipment, […]

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Editorial

September 2022

The telecom sector is poised for a technological leap with the imminent roll-out of 5G and the recent roll-out of commercial satellite broadband. The proliferation of fast connectivity to rural and remote locations and the […]

Editorial

July 2022

The global aviation industry has absorbed heavy losses amounting to an estimated $190 billion since the start of the pandemic. While there are some signs of nascent recovery, the industry is still struggling to cope […]

Editorial

June 2022

Power demand is intimately associated with economic activity and slated to grow steadily. The post-Covid rebound, alongside extreme summer temperatures, has led to record peak demand in June. Alongside expanding its generation capacity, India must […]

Editorial

May 2022

Infrastructure development suffered a big blow during the pandemic due to the halt in construction. Among the worst hit sectors were urban water supply, and sewage and wastewater management systems. Even prior to the pandemic, […]

Editorial

April 2022

 Although revenues in 2020-21 were badly impacted by the pandemic, the railways continued to push ahead with a series of important projects, which will build capacity and improve efficiencies across the network. In 2021-22, freight […]

Editorial

March 2022

Growth requires energy and as the economy grows, India’s energy demand is projected to double to 1,516 mtoe by 2035, from 753.7 mtoe in 2017. India already imports almost 90 per cent of its crude […]

Editorial

February 2022

After suffering deep contractions due to the pandemic in fiscal year 2020-21, maritime trade has recovered smartly in 2021-22. By the next fiscal year, traffic is expected to exceed pre-Covid levels and, given a combination […]

Editorial

January 2022

After experiencing a deep recession during the first and second waves of the pandemic, the construction industry is making a strong recovery. Activity is back to above pre-Covid levels. The revival has been driven by […]

Editorial

December 2021

Policymakers are looking at massive infrastructure development to help revive an economy that has been hit hard by successive waves of the pandemic. But in order to meet the ambitious targets, India needs to spend […]

Editorial

October 2021

The road sector has delivered a commendable performance through 18 months of Covid-related disruptions, and it should improve as India heads towards normalisation. There has been momentum, despite labour shortages during lockdowns, and a paradoxical […]

Editorial

September 2021

The rapid urbanisation of semi-rural areas and migration of rural labour to existing urban areas have led to increasing demands being placed on urban transport. In order to meet this demand, the penetration of metro […]

Editorial

July 2021

Given the large pipeline of projects, tunnelling will be an area of opportunity for both domestic and overseas construction companies over the next five years or more. Apart from road and rail construction, there are […]

Editorial

June 2021

After decades of steady expansion in energy demand, India experienced a hiatus in 2020-21. This is no surprise, for energy consumption is directly associated with economic activity and the pandemic, with its associated lockdowns, caused […]

Editorial

May 2021

The hiatus in global trade caused by the pandemic offers a breathing space for the ports and shipping sector. A recovery will be dependent on the revival of domestic industrial activity as well as activity […]

Editorial

April 2021

Indian Railways (IR) has used the hiatus enforced due to the lockdown to reboot and refurbish its infrastructure. IR’s revenues are tied to freight and passenger traffic. Therefore, it suffered huge losses during the lockdown […]

Editorial

March 2021

The mining sector carries a weight of about 14.4 per cent on the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), but it grew at a compound annual growth rate of only 2.1 per cent between 2013 and […]

Editorial

February 2021

Maritime trade is intimately linked to the state of the global economy and it was badly affected by the pandemic. Apart from lower traffic, it derailed project timelines, led to unclaimed cargo clogging warehouses, labour […]

Editorial

January 2021

The construction industry faced extraordinary problems in 2020 due to the pandemic, the associated lockdown and the migration of labour back into the rural hinterland. The first calendar quarter (January-March 2020) was poor and the […]