Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday met the representatives of the infrastructure sector, which is critical for economic growth and job creation, amid a buzz that the government was planning to come out with another round of measures to boost the economy, which grew just 5 per cent in the first quarter of the current fiscal.
The representatives of the infrastructure sector expressed their concerns to the finance minister.
After the meeting, NHAI chairman N. N. Sinha said the construction expenditure was more than last year.
“We are well on the way of awarding the number we have set for ourselves. So far, we have awarded road projects of 600km,” he said.
HCC chairman and managing director Ajit Gulabchand said there was a need to make the sector more investor friendly. Various concerns faced by the sector came up during the meeting, including the pace of execution of projects and financing and land issues, he said.
Finance ministry officials said they wanted to hear from the industry representatives the issues affecting the sector and the steps that should be taken to address them.
This is part of a series of sectoral meetings, which began last month with the banking, MSME, auto and real estate sectors.
In his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said the government will invest a massive Rs 100 lakh crore on developing infrastructure that will aid in nearly doubling the size of the economy to $5 trillion in the next five years.
The infrastructure output grew 2.1 per cent in July from a year ago. During April-July, output rose 3 per cent over the year-ago period. Infrastructure, which comprises eight sectors such as coal, crude oil and electricity, accounts for nearly 40 per cent of India’s industrial output.
Analysts said the demand for steel and cement, the key sectors for infrastructure growth, was muted.