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

Dr Smita Misra, Lead Water and Sanitation Specialist, South Asia Sustainable Development Unit, World Bank tells Garima Pant how empowerment of Panchayati Raj institutions and Urban Local Bodies can ensure better water and sanitation management programmes in the country.

A Task Force on “Waste to Energy” has submitted its report to the Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia. The Task Force was constituted under the Chairmanship of Dr. K. Kasturirangan to identify technically feasible, financially affordable and environmentally sound processing and disposal technologies for Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). It had also evaluated technological options, financial mechanisms and institutional arrangements to enhance resource recovery and promote

The Cabinet Committee on Investment (CCI), according to latest reports, has unlocked 144 stalled infrastructure projects worth Rs 5.27 lakh crore. But experts don't see this reviving the fortunes of the Indian economy owing to the long gestation period of these projects.

After having progressed from urban housing quietly to a significant player lending and consulting to the infrastructure sectors, this corporation has shied away from lending to some of the infrastructure sectors, VP Baligar, Chairman and Managing Director, HUDCO, explains to Shashidhar Nanjundaiah how the corporation has bucked the trend of gloom and uncertainty in the infrastructure sector, and lays out big plans over the next two years.

In the next five years, JSW Steel plans to open as many as 5,000 shops to sell custom-made steel to tap demand in rural and semi-urban India. The company believes that rising incomes in both rural and semi-urban areas in the country have boosted construction of homes and non-food spending.

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.

If there is a signal from the government for continuous development in the form of announcement of infrastructure projects, then equipment manufacturers will not shy away from further investments. A lot of manufacturers have come in, invested and are now waiting for such big projects to take off.

There is an urgent need to set up dedicated financing institutions for the steel sector in order to attain the target of 300 mn t steel annually by 2020-25, CS Verma, Chairman and Managing Director of SAIL said. It may be recalled that India set a target to achieve annual steel production of 300 million tonne (mn t) by 2020