Infra brushstrokes for the Budget

There are seven key areas that the FY24 Budget needs to address to re-energise the infrastructure sector

The last few years have demonstrated a certain consistency in prioritising infrastructure outlay and recognising it to be the pump-primer of economic growth. The accompanying table shows the high growth in outlays for the infrastructure sector. The expectation is that the 2023-24 Budget will keep up with this trend with a 33 per cent increase, which will take the outlay to Rs 10 trillion.

A confidential report cited by top finance ministry officials during post-budget discussions last year states that every Rs 1 spent on direct benefit transfer schemes results in Rs 0.90 of economic growth, whilst Rs 1.0 spent