Infrastructure

India - Infrastructure overview

Country profile

• The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index of 2019’s Infrastructure Pillar ranks India at 70 out of 141 countries. 
• The Economic Survey of 2022-2023 states that to achieve the GDP of USD 5 trillion by 2024-25, India needs to spend about USD 1.4 trillion on infrastructure. 

Policies and initiatives

• The National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP), involving 7,400 projects, outlines India's infrastructure vision and goals to create new and upgrade existing infrastructure. 
• The National Industrial Corridor which would connect major cities of India through industrial corridors was envisioned in 2006. It aims to triple industrial output in 9 years, and quadruple exports from the region in 8-9 years when it’s completed by 2040.
• The Smart Cities Mission, launched in 2015, is a USD 14 billion urban renewal and retrofitting program by the Government of India with the mission to develop smart cities across the country, making them citizen friendly and sustainable.
• The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, launched in 2015, with both rural and urban programmes, is an ambitious affordable housing programme which is aiming to provide housing to all by 2022.
• The Bharatmala and Sagarmala initiatives, both launched in 2015, are national highways and ports development umbrella projects, respectively. The projects represent a major investments in the country’s logistics sector.
• The Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana, launched in 2015, aims to provide all of rural India with a continuous supply of electricity.
• The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana was revived in 2019 with the launch of its third phase. It aims to provide last-mile and essential connectivity to Rural India through the building of roadways.
• The National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) for FY 2019-25 is a first of its kind, whole of government exercise to provide world-class infrastructure to citizens and improving their quality of life. It aims to improve project preparation and attract investments into infrastructure worth around USD 1.4 Trillion.
• The NITI Aayog and the Quality Council of India launched a National Program & Project Management Policy Framework in 2020 to institutionalise Program/ Project Management practices and profession in the country to reduce overruns and bring efficiency in large-scale PPP/ public sector infrastructure projects.
• India has a number of schemes pushing for Internet connectivity - Bharatnet, also known as National Optical Fibre Network, launched in 2011, aims to provide optical fibre connections to all Gram Panchayats (local bodies); an Optical Fibre link to India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands completed in 2020; and a public WiFi system known as PM-WANI, launched in 2020.The Indian Railways have three important projects ongoing in various stages of completion in 2020:
  • The Dedicated Freight Corridor Project comprises an Eastern and a Western corridor aimed at decongesting the quadrilateral lines and lowering logistics costs and times.
  • The Railways intends to add a number of High Speed Railways between important population centres, with the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor already sanctioned.
  • The Station Redevelopment Plan intends to upgrade India’s extensive network of railway stations and integrate them with other modes of transport and logistics.

Governance structure

Constitutionally, much of the basic infrastructure falls within the domain of the States while the Union retains control over infrastructure such as railways, communications, national highways etc. However, the Union uses Centrally Sponsored Schemes and project funding to complement State efforts. In the Union Budget 2024–25, the Government has given a massive push to the infrastructure sector by allocating Rs 2.78 lakh crores to transport and highways, Rs 2.55 lakh crores to railways, and Rs 1.77 lakh crores to the Ministry of Rural Development. 

Australia - Infrastructure overview

Country profile

• The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index of 2019’s Infrastructure Pillar ranks Australia at 29 out of 141.
• According to the Australian Infrastructure Audit, 2019, Australia’s population is projected to grow by 23.7% to reach 31.4 million by 2034, adding to the demand infrastructure based on challenges faced to cope with such an increase.

Policies and initiatives

• Infrastructure Australia, established in 2008, is Australia’s independent infrastructure advisor which advises governments, industry and the community on the investments and reforms needed to deliver better infrastructure.
• The Snowy 2.0 project, which began in 2017, is the largest committed renewable energy project in Australia, which will provide an additional 2,000 megawatts of dispatchable, on-demand generating capacity and approximately 350,000 megawatt hours of large-scale storage to the National Electricity Market.
• The Australian Inland Rail project, which commenced in 2018, would connect Melbourne to Brisbane, through a high speed freight line, completing a missing link in Australia’s rail system.
• The 2020 Infrastructure Priority List revealed an Investment Pipeline of AUD 64 billion over the next 15 years. The 2021 Priority List features 44 new investment opportunities, across transport, energy, water, waste, telecommunications and social infrastructure. 
• The National Water Grid a series of water infrastructure projects announced in 2020 to secure Australia’s water security and growth prospects.
• In Australia’s 2020-21 budget, the Australian Government Announced a 10 year, Infrastructure Pipeline, also known as the Infrastructure Investment Program, primarily dealing with land transport. In the 23-24 budget, the Government committed an additional $17.9 billion to infrastructure projects as part of the infrastructure investment pipeline, which has been increased to a $120 billion. 

Governance structure

The Australian Constitution shares responsibility between Commonwealth and State governments for a large number of infrastructural concerns such as rail, and freeways etc. The Commonwealth funds a multitude of projects through agencies, grants and funds to supplement state and local infrastructure spends.

Bilateral frameworks for cooperation between India and Australia

• The June, 2020 Joint Statement on a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Republic of India and Australia calls to raise awareness among Australian investors and Superannuation Funds of opportunities in India’s infrastructure sector under the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF). Austrade subsequently listed opportunities available in India’s Infrastructure sector.

Trade and investment opportunity

• An Update to the India Economic Strategy to 2035: Navigating from Potential to Delivery identifies India as a priority sector, identifying opportunity for Australia in India's infrastructure agenda, especially in transport infrastructure. The Australia-India Infrastructure Forum will "smooth the path for Australian firms to engage with India’s vast infrastructure plans and prospects."
• Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII’s) Infrastructure Division engages the central & state governments; the industry and other stakeholders to work towards making Public Private Partnerships – PPPs – as the cornerstone for building the state-of-the-art infrastructure in India.
• India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund is a collaborative investment platform for international and Indian investors, anchored by the Government of India for institutional investors.
• The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry has Transport Infrastructure and Urban Infrastructure and Smart Cities divisions enabling government- business dialogue.
• India’s Investment promotion and facilitation platform, Invest India, has sectoral opportunities listed alongside incentives and dedicated experts engaging with investment enquiries.
• The Australia-India Business Council maintains close relationships with federal and state government agencies, the diplomatic corps and industry bodies, has an active Infrastructure Chapter. The Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce also has active presence in the space.
• The Australian Constructors Association represents leading construction and infrastructure contracting companies. The ACA is dedicated to promoting a sustainable construction industry for Australia.
• The Victorian Government's India Strategy and New South Wales' India Strategy see opportunities in India's infrastructure space for Australian businesses.

Cooperation and collaborations

• Australia and India are founding members of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure as well as the International Solar Alliance.
• Austrade organised an Australia India Business Exchange Mission - Infrastructure and Built Environment from 24th to 28th February, 2020.
• The Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce organised a webinar titled “India-Australia: Opportunities for Collaboration in Road Safety/ Infrastructure & MSMEs” on 12 August, 2020.
• The Indian firm Sterling & Wilson stands as Australia’s dominant Engineering, Procurement and Construction firm in Photovoltaics, boasting a 1.1 Gigawatt pipeline as of September, 2020.
• The Australian firm CPB Contractors won two major Indian projects- the Hindu Heritage Experience Center and the Nita Mukesh Ambani Junior School (DAIS).
• India’s TATA Group signed an MoU with Tritium for its DC fast-charging expertise for its electric vehicle chargers in March, 2019.
• The Australian firm Sydac will be setting up training centres for the Indian Railways with simulators for training purposes according to an agreement signed in 2017.