INTRODUCTION: 

SPEECHES BY PROMINENT PERSONALITIES (PM, PRESIDENT, UN OFFICIALS et al) /RECOGNITION IF ANY:

• PM MODI: “People must be at the heart of any infrastructure growth story”.
• “If we make infrastructure resilient, we prevent disasters not only for ourselves but for many future generations”. 
• The stronger our social infrastructure is, the more talented youth, skilled youth will be able to come forward to work.

CURRENT DEVELOPMENT: 

• National Logistics Policy (NLP), 2023 launched.
• GoI awarded the contract of setting up India’s first multi-modal logistics park (MMLP) near Chennai to Reliance Industries (RIL).
• Budget 2023-24: Infrastructure Finance Secretariat to Boost private investments; Urban Infrastructure Development Fund (UIDF); continuance of 50-year interest free loans to state governments etc.

DATA/FACT:

KEYWORDS:

• Body: 21st Century Infrastructure (Infra- FIRST i.e. Future ready, Intelligent, Resilient, Sustainable, Transformative, Infrastructure); HIRA (i.e. Highways, Inland waterways, Railways, Airways); Infrastructure Triad (i.e Social, physical, digital); Infra as ‘Holy Grail’ (of Productivity/ $5Trillion economy/ Inclusive growth); Build- Neglect- Rebuild; 
• Way forward: From 'Transport Divide' to 'Culture of multimodality'; From Last mile challenges to first & last mile connectivity; From ‘Moving vehicles’ to ‘Moving People’; From grey to blue-green-grey infrastructure;

COMMITTEES RECOMMENDATIONS/NATIONAL OR INTERNATIONAL REPORTS:

• Railways: Committees like Rakesh Mohan, Sam Pitroda, Anil Kakodkar, Bibek Debroy recommended: 

• Railway Modernization (LHB Coaches, Sourcing world class Tech, use of ICT & green tech), Railway Safety (Setting up of an independent statutory body, elimination of man/unmanned crossings); Resource Mobilisation (Rationalise railway fares, Allowing Private players, Commercial utilization of railway land bank and air space) & Reforming Organizational set up (Separation of Regulatory, Management, Policy making functions).

• Railway Privatisation: Bibek Debroy Committee -> Reform first, privatise later: Recommended that before privatisation, Railways need key reforms like commercial accounting, decentralisation, human resource etc.
• Shipping: Standing Committee: expand port capacity to handle demand for container traffic; invest towards to deepening drafts in Indian ports; Road and railway ministry to prioritize projects linked to port connectivity.

GOVT SCHEMES, POLICIES AND INITIATIVE:

• Infra Financing: Policy for Strategic Disinvestment; National Monetization Pipeline; National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID); National Investment & Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), REIT/INVIT etc.
• Infra Development: Bharatmala, Sagarmala, National Rail Plan for India – 2030; MetroLite and MetroNeo (Urban Infra); Affordable housing; Parvatmala scheme; National Hydrogen Energy Mission etc.
• Infra Policy: National Logistics Policy; National Urban Transport Policy, Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP)
• Legislations: Recycling of Ships Act, 2019, Draft coastal Shipping Bill 2020, Major Ports Authority Act 2021, Draft Indian Ports Bill 2022, etc.

EXAMPLES/CASE STUDIES:

India

• Transport Sector: Intelligent Transport System: improving urban public transport in Mysore (MITRA); Janmarg: India's first full BRT system at Ahmedabad, Gujarat; Advanced Parking Management Systems (APMS), at Palika Bazaar, Delhi,

• Green Tech: Cochin Airport India’s First airport on solar power

• Housing: Dignity housing model in Hyderabad, RERA Model in Maharashtra (Only RERA to have GIS mapping).

International

• Energy Generating Subway Floor, Tokyo, Japan: Harnesses the power of foot traffic by the commuters in busiest stations through energy-generating flooring tiles.

CONCLUSION

• Infra Sector: The need of the hour is to view infrastructure sector as an undivided whole and then strategize and invest accordingly, to enable India move from 'Missing Transit' to 'Nation on the Wheels'.
• Gati Shakti: Hence, as India breaks into the ranks of Top 5 largest economies, PM Gati Shakti is critical to boost India’s domestic & global capabilities and move it from the culture of ‘Work in Progress’ to ‘Work for Progress’.
• National Logistic Policy: Thus, a proper & time bound implementation of the policy will result not only in boosting the Ease of Doing Business, but will also put India on a “Highway to growth and prosperity”.
• Port Sector: As India takes giant strides towards the Hon. PM’s vision of ‘ports for prosperity’, it is imperative that the all initiatives are taken with great institutional & integrative mechanism to realize the full potential of the port sector.
• Affordable housing needs to be put at the centre of India’s socio-economic strategy, striking a better convergence with Swachh Bharat, Jal Jeevan, Smart Cities Mission, etc. to realise the aspirational vision of “Housing for all.”

POWER SECTOR: STATUS & APPROACH

AFFORDABLE HOUSING