Why in news
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman allocated ₹11 lakh crore for capital expenditure, 3.4% of GDP.
₹1.5 lakh crore in long-term interest-free loans for States to spend on infrastructure
Progress on Roads
National highways grew 1.6 times from 2014 to 2024.
Bharatmala Pariyojana expanded high-speed corridors 12 times and 4-lane roads 2.6 times.
The Bharatmala Pariyojna is an ongoing project that will interconnect 550 District Headquarters through a minimum 4-lane highway
11 industrial corridor projects in development.
Focus shifting to asset management, maintenance, and safety.
Challenges in Railways
Capital expenditure increased by 77% over five years (₹2.62 lakh crore in FY24).
Skewed freight movement share favoring roads over railways.
Long-haul freight via roads is 25-30% costlier than railways for distances under 500 km.
Issues: Uncertainty in rake supply, infrastructure delays, and shared lines between passenger and freight trains.
Need for efficient loading/unloading operations.
Shipping and Airports
Sagarmala programme: 839 projects worth ₹5.8 lakh crore, 262 projects worth ₹1.4 lakh crore completed.
The Sagarmala Programme is an initiative by the Government of India to enhance the performance of the country's logistics sector.
The programme envisages unlocking the potential of waterways and the coastline to minimize infrastructural investments required to meet these targets
Six Airports Authority of India (AAI) airports privatised in 2019; 25 more planned for privatisation.
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