The first 100 days of the Modi government have been encouraging. Now the Centre is firmly moving to mission mode. There´s much that the infrastructure sector can look forward to in the days to come. Let´s look at the various initiatives that the government plans to unroll.

Today, 70 per cent of our GDP comes from urban areas while the investment for urban development is only 0.70 per cent. Now, according to the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) report, Indias urban population is projected to increase from 34 crore in 2008 to 59 crore in 2030

The Union Budget 2014-15 presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has laid an infra tarpaulin and created a mood for growth. An eBiz integrated portal where all ministries would be integrated by December is underway to facilitate business. The allocations are across the spectrum of infrastructure, manufacturing and social sectors.

If one was to think of the three most pressing problems and areas where solutions are needed, one could sum them up as IIM: Inflation, Infrastructure, Manufacturing. To hit the ground running you need to steer around areas which need tweaking.

By the time this issue reaches your hands, the new government would have taken over. Which are the burning issues in the infrastructure space that have to be tackled on an urgent basis?

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-