Stakeholders harp on the government's infrastructure push and expect construction orders of Rs.18 trillion in the next six years. This order inflow volume should support 12 to 15 per cent of industry-level execution of compound annual growth rate (CAGR).

Two-thirds of the infrastructure investment, as per the revised plan, was to be funded by the public sector (central and state governments) while the remaining one-third was to come from the private sector.

Over the past 10 years, India has successfully executed projects such as the Golden Quadrilateral road programme and port expansion projects in the country.

This Union Budget came against the backdrop of a raft of reforms, economic slowdown and fiscal stress. While the Budget proposals will incrementally contribute to economic expansion with its de facto elements of stimulus, the pace of growth will largely be due to factors outside the Budget.

RaIn an interaction with INFRASTRUCTURE TODAY, Katsunori Ushiku, Managing Director, Mitsubishi Electric India (MEI), said that for transportation systems, the company is targeting an annual revenue of US $170 million in India by 2020, partly by strengthening sales and maintenance services for subways and trains, to meet the growing global demand for transportation infrastructure.

Thrust in ensuring 24-hour electricity access to all rural households under the Saubhagya and DUGJY schemes is likely to boost energy demand to some extent as well as improve the quality of life for rural households.

Improved rural incomes, higher rural credit and increased allocation for the rural, agricultural and allied sectors are likely to boost rural demand, including the requirement for rural housing.

Capital outlay for the infrastructure sector up to Rs 5.97 lakh crore in FY2018v19 (up 20.8 per cent over FY2018), with major increase for segments like railways, telecommunication and affordable housing.

The government's thrust on infrastructure, which is one of the key end-user industries for the steel business, is an encouraging trend for steel demand. Within infrastructure, significantly higher capital expenditure earmarked for affordable housing, power transmission and railways is likely to augment steel demand.