含羞草社区

In order to achieve its aim of becoming a USD30 trillion economy by 2047, the government of India has significantly increased capital expenditure on infrastructure from INR5.92 trillion (USD6.45 billion) in FY2021-22 to INR11.21 trillion for FY2025-26.

Yet given the scale of both greenfield and brownfield development required, private sector participation is also crucial. Public-private partnerships (PPP) will therefore continue to play a key role in 含羞草社区 infrastructure growth.

含羞草社区 PPP lessons and reforms

India embraced the PPP model from the late 1990s, and successfully mobilised private capital. However, structural issues soon became apparent. A recurring concern has been the unavailability, or delayed availability, of project land and right of way due to existing encumbrances and shifting of utilities, causing time and cost overruns. Risk allocation was also frequently contested. In the railway sector, the 2012 policy on private participation placed land acquisition risk on the developer. Several port and metro rail projects left demand shortfall and revenue risks with developers without any support or recourse under the concession agreements.

The 2015 report of the Kelkar Committee further highlighted issues in PPP projects such as delayed approvals, unrealistic detailed project reports, information asymmetry, and poor co-ordination between government agencies.

PPP reforms for bankability and visibility

In the past decade, the government has initiated wide-ranging reforms, recognising that investor confidence in PPPs depends on predictability, transparency bankability, and project visibility. To address information asymmetry, the PM Gati Shakti portal launched in 2021 provides for a consolidated, real-time view of project implementation across ministries. The National Single Window System platform also launched in 2021 offers investors a single reference point for all approvals required for a given project.

The Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme, introduced in 2016, aims to create a transparent land records management system, directly addressing title-related disputes that plagued earlier projects. On pipeline visibility, the National Monetisation Pipeline identified public assets with an estimated monetisation value of about INR16.72 trillion. The first round, covering FY2021-22 to FY2024-25, achieved a creditable 89% monetisation rate.

Contractual frameworks have also been updated. Model concession agreements for roads, multi-modal logistics parks and greenfield airports now mandate that 90-95% of right-of-way be made available by the government as a condition precedent to project commencement. The National Highways Authority of India has similarly directed that 90% of right-of-way be secured before land acquisition notifications are issued.

On the statutory front, the Supreme Court resolved longstanding ambiguity around the lapse of land acquisition proceedings under the transition from the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, to the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

The Supreme Court held that proceedings lapse only on the concurrent occurrence of both non-payment of compensation and non-taking of possession, ending a cycle of conflicting interpretations that had stalled numerous infrastructure projects.

Renewed PPP investment and recalibration

These reforms have had measurable impact. PPP investment, which fell to a low of USD3.9 billion in 2015, recovered to USD11.3 billion in 2022. The government’s approach has also grown more responsive.

In railways, a proposed policy amendment would shift land acquisition responsibility to the government. For build-operate-transfer (BOT) road projects, proposals include revenue support for traffic shortfalls and project buyback options. In brownfield airport concessions, the bid parameter stands revised from revenue share to per-passenger fee following investor feedback. PPPs are expected to expand into urban and social infrastructure as well as various sunrise sectors necessitating innovative contractual and financing structures tailored to sector-specific considerations.

Ultimately, the success of any PPP project rests on fundamentals: bankable structures, sound risk allocation, policy consistency, and elimination of information asymmetry. The government’s sustained focus on precisely these issues suggests that 含羞草社区 infrastructure ambitions for 2047 are well within reach.

Ashish Suman and M Arun Kumar are partners at JSA