Networked Bharat

Vast networking programmes are overshadowing traditional infrastructure projects

The warp and weft of India’s infrastructure-delivery fabric is being woven together at a hectic pace, overshadowing single-location, lumpy investments of yesteryears. And this decade and the next will see infrastructure companies and construction companies make the unexpected move from building large capex, location-based, standalone projects such as highways, bridges, power plants, ports and airports to linking up utilities delivery. The action has clearly shifted to a wave of investments in providing connectivity and delivering utilities to the masses.

Take the case of the Bharatmala Pariyojana. The earlier generation of highway projects focused on trunk roads. Bharatmala’s aim is to build