| The outlay for major infrastructure sectors "" energy, transport and communications "" has been substantially hiked. In addition, to focus on outcomes rather than outlays, Chidambaram announced a Central Plan Schemes Monitoring System to be managed by the Planning Commission. Under it, about 1,000 schemes are proposed to be monitored in 2008-09. |
| ENERGY: The central plan outlay for energy has been hiked about 30 per cent to Rs 93,815 crore for 2008-09 against the projected outlay of Rs 72,230 crore in the current year (revised estimates). About Rs 5,500 crore has been earmarked for the rural electrification scheme ""Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGVVY), while Rs 800 crore has been set aside for the flagship project for distribution reforms "" the Accelerated Power Development and Reform Programme (APDRP). |
| The finance minister also announced his intention to set up a national fund for transmission and distribution reforms. He also said that the government would "redouble" its efforts to add the targeted 78,577 Mw capacity in the Eleventh Plan, though the 10,000 Mw addition in the current year would be less than targeted. |
| On the 4,000 Mw ultra mega power projects, Chidambaram said that the fourth one at Tilaiya in Jharkhand would be awarded shortly. |
| He also said that another five such projects could come up in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Orissa and Tamil Nadu, provided the state governments extended their support. |
| TRANSPORT: The central plan outlay for next year is up 22 per cent to Rs 84,177 crore against the revised estimate of Rs 68,930 crore in the current year (including the provision for rural roads). This estimate is, however, lower than the Budget estimate of Rs 71,589 crore for 2007-08. |
| Allocation for the National Highways Development Programme (NHDP) has been increased by 20 per cent to Rs 12,966 crore next year. Chidambaram also announced that 96.48 per cent of the Golden Quadrilateral project ""linking Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata ""has been completed, while 23.36 per cent of the North-South-East-West corridor has been completed. |
| COMMUNICATIONS: The outlay has been increased by 32 per cent to Rs 21,937 crore next year, compared to the revised estimate of Rs 16,599 crore this year. |
| RURAL DEVELOPMENT: In keeping with the general rural thrust of the Budget, Chidambaram announced an increase in the corpus of the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund, set up in 1995-96 to channelise bank funds into rural infrastructure projects, to Rs 14,000 crore. He also announced the creation of a special window under the fund for rural roads, with an initial corpus of Rs 4,000 crore. |
| URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE: The outlay for the flagship urban infrastructure programme ""Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission or JNNURM "" has been hiked to Rs 6,866 crore in 2008-09 against Rs 5,482 crore this fiscal. |
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