Amid the anxiety and the anticipation awaiting the next Union government, as the country goes into polling mode, the infrastructure sector got some news to cheer about. The decision of the Planning Commission to propose the setting up of a Cabinet committee on transport, a move that could lead to speedy decision making in the sector, is a welcome move.

The dance of democracy will unfold soon, as the poll dates have been announced. While the political fraternity gets down to the poll mathematics, the entire nation awaits the results with a hope of a stable government that can push growth volumes.

This period of lull before the national election is an unfortunate reality that the industry must deal with, with no end in sight to the prevalent cloudiness around the fate and status of the more than 150 post-clearance projects

This Welcome to the year of the elections! In this issue, we have endeavoured to examine what the year holds for the infrastructure industry. There seems to be optimism in the air. Recently, the industry unequivocally hailed Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi´s speech at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) last month. Gripping, pointed and purposeful, Gandhi´s oratory skills looked transformed. Unlike most politicians´ and most industrialists´, his vision is a mix of short- and long-

This year was truly a vortex of a perfect storm, yet it has been a year of contrasts. The Indian industry is in dire need of political stability and the strength of leadership at the Centre, but at the same time, India recently overtook China as the most attractive investment destination in the world. This year, foreign institutional investment (FII) is at its peak, having crossed Rs 1 lakh crore.

Industry observers have promptly branded the growth in some of the core sectors in the second quarter as ´encouraging´ and ´first signs of recovery´ for the infrastructure sectors.

The concept of pooled financing comes at a time when the industry needs it more than ever in recent history.Clearing nearly Rs 2 lakh crore (still a small fraction of the pending part of the pie) was the first step for the Cabinet Committee for Investments and the special committee set up by the Prime Minister's Office for this express purpose.

The industry may be disappointed with the Food Security and Land Acquisition Bills, seeing them as a step back into the era of subsidies and socialism. In many ways-lets's face it, so would be protectionism of domestic businesses against the onslaught of Chinese power equipment manufacturers.

By its very definition, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), launched seven years ago, vowed to rejuvenate our cities. In the process, funds were allocated segment-wise-water supply, transport augmentation, facilities for the poor,