Even as free joyrides are being extended to Nagpurites on the 5-kilometre stretch from the Airport South to Khapri on the Nagpur metro rail before its formal inauguration, the federal government has plans to extend the service to the city’s outskirts using the existing broad-gauge railway tracks.

The Railways has sizeable capex plans for the five year period 2015-19 involving a capital outlay of Rs.8.56 trillion. The annual capital outlay for FY2016-18 was increased significantly to meet the five-year targets. NITI Aayog has also finalised the three year action agenda (2018-20).

The Government of India has embarked on the Sagarmala Programme with a vision to reduce logistics cost for both domestic and EXIM cargo and utilise the waterways to their potential.

The total length of operational metro projects in India presently stands at about 440 km and is growing. Cities like Bengaluru, Chennai, Gurugram, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Lucknow and the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) where they are already operational, are simultaneously adding on to their existing route networks.

The market should develop significantly. India's demand for water is growing, while the amount of available water is falling. So, recycling and reusing water is an intelligent way to help meet the supply-demand balance.

Policy actions to revive stalled projects, expedite approvals, introduce hybrid annuity and toll-operate-transfer (TOT) models in highways, and sustain rapid growth in renewable capacity augur well for the infrastructure financing landscape.

With an outlay of Rs 1,773 for the year 2017û18, the government has set the ball rolling for the port sector. To promote port-led development in India, Rs 600 crore has already been allocated for the Sagarmala Programme.

It is often pointed out that every rupee invested in ramping up railway infrastructure benefits the economy six times over. Therefore, after languishing for nearly 70 years, modernisation of the sector has been put on the fast track.

Tilak Raj Seth, Executive Vice President, Mobility, Siemens, feels implementation of PPP will provide a fillip to railway projects in India. However, given the size and rapid growth in the country's rail sector, availability of trained manpower will remain a primary challenge.