Indian government plans to allocate a record 11.11 trillion rupees for infrastructure development in 2024

On Thursday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman disclosed plans for the establishment of three significant 'Railway Economic Corridors Programs' in her address to the Lok Sabha as part of the Interim Budget for the fiscal year 2024-2025. In 2024, the Indian government intends to set a record by allocating 11.11 trillion rupees for infrastructure development.

1. Railway Economic Corridors Programs

• Three major railway economic corridor programs will be developed: energy, mineral, and cement corridors; port connectivity corridors; and high traffic density corridors.
• Projects identified under the PM Gati Shakti for enabling multi-modal connectivity to improve logistics efficiency and reduce costs.

2. Deep Tech for the Defence Sector

• A new scheme will be launched to strengthen deep tech for the defense sector.

3. Agricultural Initiatives

• Investment by the public and commercial sectors in post-harvest agricultural activities would be encouraged by the government.
• Expansion of the application of nano-DAP (Diammonium Phosphate) on various crops in agri-climatic zones.

4. Railway Infrastructure Development

•  Construction of three major railway corridors, including one for cement.
• Conversion of 40,000 normal railway bogies to Vande Bharat standard.

5. Infrastructure Spending

• The Indian government will spend a record 11.11 trillion rupees on infrastructure creation in 2024/25.
• The allocation for capital expenditure for the financial year starting April 1 is 11.1% higher than the capex for the current fiscal year.

Also read: Budget 2024: Essential Terms You Should Be Familiar With

6. State Loans for Capital Investments

• Rs.750 billion corpus allocated for 50-year loans to states to boost their capital investments in the next fiscal year