The settlement of government dues to private vendors and a firm commitment to future payments on time would spur growth
The US election has commanded our attention, but rather like the aftermath of a riveting cricket match, we are left with having to return to our own pressing issues. In particular, we need to focus on the structural obstacles to getting our infrastructure stimulus (the 12 October package) off the ground.
Reports tracking centrally-funded infrastructure projects continue to be issued every month by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MOSPI), most commendably in these difficult times. The latest report was released on 19 October. Of a current total of 1,661 incomplete infrastructure projects, each costing above ₹150 crore, delays were assessable only for 754 projects on which timing data were available. Of those, 70% were delayed (539 projects), with an average delay of three-and-a-half years.
Project delays are a sad old story in India. The stated reasons include land acquisition and green clearance. What makes the high delay percentage alarming in corona times is that these are the very projects expected to stimulate both supply and demand through wages paid to construction labour.
Source: livemint
