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Infrastructure sector remains main focus for the govt.
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The Finance Minister’s much needed thrust to infrastructure by way of allocating Rs1,73,552 crore has received positive response from the infrastructure industry though the Real Estate players are not very much impressed with this year’s budget. We spoke to some of key industry players to understand what they think about the budget

INFRASTRUCTURE

Infrastructure sector remains main focus for the government as it has received 46% of total planned allocation. The Finance Minister in his budget made provision of Rs1,73,552 crore for upgrading infrastructure in both rural and urban area. Major emphasise has been given to development of high quality physical infrastructure such as roads, ports, airports and railways.

The allocation for road transport has been increased by over 13% from Rs17,520 crore to Rs19,894 crore. Disbursement for infrastructure by India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd(IIFCL) is expected to reach Rs20,000 crore in 2010-11 as against Rs9,000 crore this year.

Railways to get Rs16,752 crore which is about Rs950 crore more than last year to modernise and expand the network.

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URBAN INFRA

Urban infrastructure didn’t receive much attention from the Finance Minister though he announced a number of urban development programme catering to poverty alleviation and housing. There has not been much mention of government’s Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) scheme which plays a key role in upgrading urban infrastructure. However, there has been some relief for Monorail projects for urban transport which was granted project import status at a concessional basic duty of 5%.

The government increased its allocation for various urban development programmes by 75% from Rs3,060 crore to Rs5,400 crore. The Housing and Poverty Alleviation scheme will get a hike from Rs850 core to Rs1,000 crore in 2010-11. The government has allocated Rs1,270 crore for Rajiv Awas Yojana for urban poor.

RURAL INFRA

Rural infra remains one of first priorities for the government as it has stepped up its allocation to Rs48,000 crore for Bharat Nirman projects. The allocation for the Indira Awas Yojana has been increased to Rs10,000 crore for the year 2010-11.

A total budgetary support of Rs12,000 crore has been made for development of rural roads including bridges. This provision has been made under the Department of Rural Development for Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). The government expects to construct 3,65,279 km of new roads and 3,68,000 km under upgradation.

POWER

The Finance Minister has shown some generosity for this sector by doubling its outlay up to Rs5,130 crore against previous year’s allocation of Rs2,230 crore. It does not include allocation for Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY). The government has accorded highest priority to capacity addition. The total outlay for the Ministry of Power is Rs60,751.42 crore.