Editorial

The power sector saw several interesting developments last year. For the first time ever, in 2017-18, capacity additions in the renewables category – mainly in solar – overtook conventional capacity additions.  Power lines reached every […]

The Indian Railways is cash-strapped, accident-prone and suffering from slow revenue growth. It is also the single most important element in the domestic transport infrastructure and it has ambitious plans. If all goes well, it […]

Mining is the backbone for multiple manufacturing sectors and it is also the source of various metals, limestone and coal and other minerals. India is fortunate in that it has an abundance of many key […]

Union Budget 2018-19 allocated Rs 5.97 trillion for infrastructure, which is a substantial increase of about Rs 1.03 trillion over the outlay for 2017-18. The finance minister estimated that the country needs about Rs 50 […]

Steel finds uses across multiple industries. The big-ticket consumption comes from general construction, and the railways, housing and road sectors. Demand for steel in various grades and alloys varies directly with activity in these areas. […]

Bank credit still remains the largest source of funding for the infrastructure sector, though it has declined in recent years due to the stressed position of bank balance sheets and the large number of NPAs […]

Given the speed of urbanisation in the country, there is an urgent need to develop mass public transit systems as quickly as possible. Indeed, a number of metro rail and bus rapid transit (BRT) projects […]

The road sector has seen increased activity in the past year both in terms of project award as well as work on the ground. The current construction rate is averaging about 18 km per day […]

The overall outlook for the civil aviation sector looks positive. Fuel prices remain at moderate levels; traffic growth rates have accelerated; airline financials have seen upticks. Several operators are looking to increase fleet size and […]

In the past 12 months, the oil and gas sector has seen the initiation of policy changes that could have useful outcomes a few years down the line. As of now, global crude and gas […]

The maritime sector has been under pressure for years, due to weak global demand, low shipping rates and contraction in imports and exports. However, there has been progress on the policy front and that should […]

The power sector has seen a key shift in the mix of capacity addition in the past year. Capacity additions in renewables exceeded that in conventional power. At the same time, the coal supply chain […]

The political establishment has consistently sent out mixed signals regarding the multiple roles played by Indian Railways. On the one hand, IR has to be a key transporter, moving goods and people across the country […]

India possesses many useful minerals such as coal and limestone, and a whole range of ferrous and non-ferrous metals. These serve as raw materials and feedstock for key sectors like power, fertiliser, cement, etc. Mining […]

The concrete estimates in Union Budget 2017-18 are liable to change, since the GST couldcome into play within a few months, leading to a transformation of the tax collection system.The budget also doesn’t take the […]

The construction industry has seen a phase of muted activity. It has been impacted by ten-sions around the mixed impact of the GST, and by slow project execution and a generic slow-down. However, there’s optimism […]

The road sector has seen multiple policy tweaks in the past year. At the central level, the minister has spent a lot of time and personal equity bringing stakeholders to the negotiating table to unclog […]

The civil aviation industry seems to be in a sweet spot at the moment with a series of positive developments over the past couple of years. Low crude prices have significantly reduced operational costs and […]

With this issue, we celebrate our eighteenth anniversary. As before, we take this opportunity to reflect on the state of the infrastructure sectors and the key trends. There is certainly more activity in most of […]

The global slowdown has cast a dark cloud with exports dropping for the past six quarters. But there has been a silver lining in the form of low crude and gas prices.  This has led […]