Infrastructure Services and Economic Growth

Infrastructure services — power, transport (roads, railways, ports, airports), communication networks, and irrigation — form the backbone on which the primary and secondary sectors depend, which is why they are sometimes described as basic or economic infrastructure. Good infrastructure lowers the cost of moving goods and information, widens the market a producer can reach, and makes an economy more attractive for both domestic and foreign investment.

India has invested heavily in expanding its infrastructure services in recent decades: the national highway network has been substantially widened under programmes such as the National Highways Development Project and Bharatmala; rural roads have expanded under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana; railway freight and passenger capacity has been augmented through dedicated freight corridors; and telecommunications — particularly mobile and broadband penetration — has grown extremely rapidly, bringing a very large share of the population, including in rural areas, within reach of digital services for the first time. …