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Rs 100 tn to be spent for infrastructure creation

2019-08-20

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Rs 100 trillion will be spent towards infrastructure creation in the country. He announced this during his sixth Independence Day speech, presenting a report card of his government?s first 10 weeks after assuming office for the second term.

According to the PM, the last five years have seen massive spending on roads, railways, water, irrigation and urban infrastructure. Connectivity, both physical and digital, is a key development goal for the new government as it seeks to steer the country towards becoming the fifth largest economy in the world.

The government has set ambitious plans such as Sagarmala (ports) and Bharatmala (roads), to improve transport infrastructure. While the total investment for the Bharatmala project was pegged at Rs 10 trillion, the country has envisaged Rs 8 trillion of investment until 2035 under the Sagarmala programme.

The government aims a new integrated infrastructure programme, which involves building roads, railways, waterways and airports. The government has also been trying to leverage roads, railways and waterways to bring down the country?s logistics costs down to 8 per cent to make the economy competitive.