Fixing water pricing is not just a matter of introducing some user charges here and raising a few taxes there. It is the need of the hour to tackle the concurrent issues, improve the service levels and implement a cost recovery policy.

Wastewater management suffers from the same technology-related problem as most other infrastructure segments while effective, even viable, technology is available, tendering and other processes, along with low awareness of their availability, has been bothersome to many practitioners.

Implementing the first PPP in rail couldn't have been easy. While he prepares to enter into more JVs with the rail ministry, Pankaj Malviya, MD, Pipavav Railway Corporation Ltd (PRCL), explains to Shilpi Aggarwal how a clause helped bring down operational costs from nearly 100 per cent to just over 50 per cent

The development of the facilities recommended by the railway modernisation committee will go a long way in making India self-reliant in railway technologies, writes Mohit Sinha.

Indian Railways has to go in a big way to adopt IT in many areas as the requirement is huge. At the same time, funds allocated for such activities is inadequate showing that technology adoption is not on top of the Railway's budgetary allocation, or agenda. Sunil Kumar, Managing Director, Centre for Railway Information System (CRIS), speaks with Sumantra Das.

Throughout the world, the public and private sectors recognise the need for a better transportation infrastructure. And increasingly, they see the potential of smarter railroads to address that need.

If you thought only BOT projects were in trouble, think again. The faltering roads sector is increasingly dependent on sentiment, and this dependence is clear from the recent negativity that has crept even into EPC. Bringing back investor sentiment should now be supreme.

The new EPC framework is a great beginning and incorporates some very good ideas. If MoRTH and NHAI can address the administrative deficiencies that have been afflicting the regulatory and project management systems of the highways sector

Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) projects do have certain advantages which amount to lesser amount of risk for the private company. While a successful EPC road project