Infrastructure in India


One of India’s most important industries has a knackered balance-sheet

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Readers' comments










UCpMsqk2U8 in reply to Supremus

Sure, India is sloppy but I'll take sloppy democracy any day over the Chinese Dictatorship which will eventually go the Soviet way...

And what exactly is a "visualized economy?" Did you mean "virtualized economy" (a poorly phrased term for "Service Economy")?

ShameOnU in reply to UCpMsqk2U8

Are you silly?
India is a false democracy, don't cheat others by using the name of democracy, just read the figures in India, more than 80% of the government officials are inherited from their family, and the corruption in India is worse that China and Russia, and China is just one-party government and not dictatorship, Russia is more democratic than India, because most Indians are controlled by local powerful families. Don't regard other as idiot, the only thing is that the west give a democracy name to India, but it means nothing for Indian people.

UCpMsqk2U8 in reply to ShameOnU

Given the nature, tone and content of your multiple comments here, "IamUnkownUser," it seems like "facts" don't matter to you and you and a generation of blindly ideological Chinese nationalists have been beast-fed by Mao's still effective propaganda machinery!

Well, good luck to you! The law of gravity like other facts, sooner or later assert themselves!

Jai Prakash Sharma

Investment in Infrastructure development, both social and physical, though, a priority for sustainable economic growth, yet the same requires a hassle free public-private partnership that involves a transparent bidding process, clearly earmarked outlays-preferably through Special Purpose vehicle- project planning, speedy environmental clearance, time bound implementation, realistic cost accounting and auditing, and accountability fixing, which, given the UPA government's current preoccupation with multiple political and economic challenges, and the infrastructure industry's financial woes, really seems to be a tall order.


Prediction by 2050 India will be home to everything that is wrong with humanity.

UCpMsqk2U8 in reply to puranakheela

I'll posit that every single country in the world is home to everything that is "wrong with humanity" right now!!

You don't have to wait until 2050 for "wrongs of humanity" and you're living in a fool's paradise if you think that is restricted only to India.

indica in reply to UCpMsqk2U8

Yes, I agree. Indians who never left India often assume that life abroad is 'near perfect'. One may have good roads and clean shopping malls but one discovers other factors that were not problems in India.

I am alarmed by the creeping hedonism and irrationality in Western civilisation. Even the famed, disciplined Japanese culture is losing its young people to a punk culture.

None of my remarks is meant to suggest that India can feel satisfied with the way things are.

trialcritic in reply to ShameOnU

OMG, we have started an India vs China comparison. This is a problem for the insecures. Having been to China multiple times, I appreciate the Chinese for their hard work. In fact, China as a country is much better managed than India. As an Indian, I have no problem accepting this. The first requirement to solving the problem is admitting that you have one.

Bill88888888 in reply to trialcritic

For your comments, I think your compatriots will scold at you.

It is interesting that at 30 years ago, the Chinese did not compare with India in the same way when China's GDP was lower than India's.

Indian security issues are so much related to its economic growth but most Indian refuse to believe it. Look at how much the Indian advance their military but not their society. It is obviously to be seen.

ShameOnU in reply to trialcritic

Hi Parunach, thanks for your discussion, frankly speaking, I don't understand why TE and other Indian guys like to compare India with other countries including China and Russia, and then make the conclusion India will lead the world in 30 years because of the democracy and English-speaking and the economy of India is more sustainable, really subjective and ulterior, I am a little bit sick of this kind of tone, please focus on improving the people's living instead of using politics as an excuse to slander other country. if you read the main-stream news in the west, I have to say that they should care more about real benefit the grass-root people can get not about ideology! Every country has its own way.

ShameOnU in reply to Bill88888888

You are absolutely right, the insecurity of India comes from its internal conflicts that some princely states want to be independent and actually they have sufficient reasons to do so, and the majority population living in the poverty, which imposed great pressure on Indian government,and one of the best way to transfer the internal confrontations is to portrait several outside enemies, and Pakistan and China are ideal choices. When it comes to nationalism, Indian government is using nationalism more than other countries in order to consolidate its domestic politics. If you know modern Indian history, you will find that the war between India and its neighbors mostly because of its intense domestic political situations, not from so-called threat form other countries, Indian leaders like to use war to take risk and transfer the focus. Actually, India is an real threat to the world peace if India can't solve its domestic poverty. It is sad that so many people can't understand the simple history, and use their nationalist irrational to judge the world.

Ajay Singh


jay kashp




Stephen Morris

By eliminating the opportunity for transparent tendering and replacing it with opaque negotiations for packages which cannot be readily compared, public-private partnerships guarantee that corruption will be entrenched.

The situation becomes ever worse as the years roll on and an incumbent tax farmer (for example, the incumbent owner of a road tolling monopoly) makes an offer to extend the franchise period in exchange for some “free” road or other contribution. In this case there is absolutely no opportunity for competition.

There is a reason that transparent price-based tendering was introduced in developed countries. It is the same reason that corrupt politicians and corrupt businessmen are forever trying to white-ant it.



They are damn cheap at current market prices.

Indian Ocean in reply to guest-iiwmeno


And also infrastructure bonds sell like hot cakes in India. Look at the recent bond floated that was oversubscribed in the first day of sales by investors from NHAI.

Capital is there (specially from private investors), if only Govt had some will.

PL123 in reply to Indian Ocean

"Capital is there (specially from private investors), if only Govt had some will."

May be the interest groups, locals and state governments are the problem..

"I think this was true few years back, but now with prices coming down for solar panals, India has big plans for green energy."

You should thanks China to bring down the cost of producing Solar panals, but do you have enough space to place Solar panal? This is my question before. You have 1,2 billion population and is growing, when poor people improve living standard, then energy supply need to increase considerably.

Nuclear power plant is just too dangerous to countries like CHina and India, too populated.

Connect The Dots





A virtual economy is better than nothing.

silent night in reply to Connect The Dots


global economy.

PL123 in reply to silent night

According to this website Mumbai is really expensive. But who want to live there when the traffic is so bad. You need a Helicopter to work.
"...In 2010 alone, property prices in Mumbai picked up by 60 percent. A rate like US$5.1 million (or US$17,000 per square meter) is typical for a 300 square meter luxury-used apartment in the city’s prime areas....."

zerge in reply to Connect The Dots



silent night in reply to canabana

Certainly in Shanghai the property prices also will be very high if they be located in or near some special areas such as CBD(Central Business District).The highest property price in Shanghai is Tomson Riviera apartment’s $26,984 (170,000 Rmb/m2),the best location and the most luxurious decoration in Shanghai. But not all apartments are high as same as Tomson Riviera’s. By the end of December 27, the statistics shows that 2011’s average house price level is $3,547/m2 (22,351 Rmb/m2) in Shanghai.

If PL123’s quote about Mumbai’s house price is true that "...In 2010 alone, property prices in Mumbai picked up by 60 percent. A rate like US$5.1 million (or US$17,000 per square meter) is typical for a 300 square meter luxury-used apartment in the city’s prime areas....."."While Mumbai’s property market was ranked as the 10th most expensive worldwide and Shanghai’s ranked 35th last year,"

Logically speaking,if Shanghai has a property bubble, Mumbai has a larger property bubble because Mumbai’s house price close to three times higher than Shanghai’s.






Mitesh Sharma








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