Hindsight: The rising interest rate is a grave concern for infrastructure companies. The beleaguered funding situation have seen a number of projects already been put on hold in the planning stage itself.
Hopes up? The sector hopes for a reprieve from the Budget by way of easing funding norms, providing tax incentives and increasing public sector spending. Liquidity crisis in the sec-¡tor will ease if the government and its agencies provide easier funding, including lower interest rate on loans, simplified approvals and more transparency. There should also be scrutiny of pending viable projects and they should be awarded and started.
Forward look: The future of the Indian infrastructure sector is filled with potential, being vital to the development of country´s economy and government has played a major role by liberalising FDI norms. It has taken up large-scale infrastructure ventures such as Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, interlinking of rivers, expansion of metro rail to other cities, liberalisation in air transportation and ports is also poised for progress.
A good budget for infrastructure sector will be the one that carries on with the reform process and focuses on growth while addressing key issues like fiscal deficit, inflation, infrastructure augmentation, etc. Transparency and greater accountability should be the pillars of any policy making process.
Rishabh Sethi, Executive Director, SPML Infra Limited, a major urban infrastructure player
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