Infrastructure gets new life

In an attempt to boost the infrastructure sector and remove obstacles, the government has allocated a whopping Rs 2.21 lakh crore to the sector.

“Infrastructure is one of the strong pillars of the economy and ‘exemplary’ and ‘proactive’ steps by the government to remove hurdles resulted in India awarding the highest-ever road contracts in 2015, as well as highest ever production of motor vehicles which are clearly "signs of growth", said Arjun Jaitley while presenting the Budget.

The total outlay for infrastructure has been put at Rs 2.21 lakh crore for 2016-17, the finance minister said, adding that the total allocation for road and rail in 2016-17, is Rs 2.18 lakh crore.

"The total allocation for the road sector has been Rs 97,000 crore, including rural roads," he said.

A sum of Rs 19,000 crore has been allocated for the “Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana” in 2016-17, and in all, Rs 27,000 cr after contribution from states.

In 2015, India’s major ports handled the highest ever quantity of cargo.

“We have also added the highest-ever capacity in major ports. We have started a series of measures for modernising the ports and increasing their efficiency. The Sagarmala Project has already been rolled out,” the minister said.

He said the government is planning to develop greenfield ports both in the Eastern and Western coasts of the country. “The work on the National Waterways is also being expedited. Rs 800 crore has been provided for these initiatives,” he added.