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BUSINESS EYE JUNE 28, 2024 | The Indian Eye 36

Speed, scale, GDP and efficiency: How India’s

infrastructure is developing as favorably as China’s

Looking ahead, the Morgan Stanley report projects a steady increase

in India’s infrastructure investment

gible benefits of these initiatives.
OUR BUREAU
Looking ahead, the report proj-
New Delhi ects a steady increase in India’s infra-
structure investment. It is expected
ndia’s infrastructure has im- to rise from 5.3 per cent of GDP in
proved significantly in recent the fiscal year 2024 (F24) to 6.5 per
Iyears, highlights a report by Mor- cent by fiscal year 2029 (F29). This
gan Stanley. The report pointed out increase indicates a robust com-
that historically, India’s infrastructure pound annual growth rate (CAGR)
competitiveness has been hindered of 15.3 per cent, resulting in cumu-
by poor infrastructure. However, re- lative spending of USD 1.45 trillion
cent enhancements and government over the next five years.
initiatives, such as ‘Gati Shakti’, show As of the current fiscal year, In-
great promise for further progress. dia’s GDP is 19 per cent of China’s.
“India’s infrastructure has mate- China has long been recognized for
rially improved in recent years - and its heavy investments in infrastruc-
there is significant scope for further ture, providing unparalleled scale,
improvements through recent gov- size, and efficiency. However, the
ernment initiatives like PM Gati report indicates that India’s physi-
Shakti (PMGS),” the report stated. cal infrastructure is not significantly
In the last decade, the report lagging behind China’s when con-
said that India has significantly in- sidering the size of their respective
creased its infrastructure spending, economies.
with a strong focus on scaling up and While there may be visible dif-
modernizing its physical assets. ferences in efficiency and quality, the
The report also highlighted that India continues to develop its infrastructure and is poised to achieve significant advance- report mentioned that India’s ongo-
when comparing infrastructure scale ments, positioning itself favourably in the global context (ANI) ing and planned investments signify
relative to GDP, India compares fa- progress and potential for further
vorably to China, which is often seen development.
as the benchmark for large-scale in- ture plans to further improve various the waterways development program. While India continues to devel-
frastructure development. segments of the economy. According to the report, “This op its infrastructure, it is poised to
The several ministries of the These include ‘Bharatmala’ for is at the margin helping goods move achieve significant advancements,
Government of India have initiated road development, ‘Sagarmala’ for faster and at more affordable cost positioning itself favourably in the
long-term, sector-specific infrastruc- port connectivity, Power for All, and than in the past,” illustrating the tan- global context.

India’s current account registers a surplus of $5.7 billion

ndia’s current account balance billion, amounting to 0.2 per cent of driven primarily by rising exports in investment showed a significant
registered a surplus of USD 5.7 GDP. software, travel, and business ser- recovery, with a net inflow of USD
Ibillion, equivalent to 0.6 per cent A key factor contributing to this vices sectors. 11.4 billion in Q4 FY 2023-24, com-
of GDP, in the fourth quarter of the surplus was the reduction in the mer- As a result, net services receipts pared to a net outflow of USD 1.7
financial year 2023-24, the Reserve chandise trade deficit, which stood at rose to USD 42.7 billion, up from billion in Q4 FY 2022-23.
Bank of India said on Monday. USD 50.9 billion in Q4 of FY 2023- USD 39.1 billion a year earlier, sig- Additionally, net inflows under
The data shows a significant 24, down from USD 52.6 billion in nificantly contributing to the current external commercial borrowings to
turnaround from the previous the corresponding quarter of the pre- account surplus. India increased to USD 2.6 billion
quarter, where the country record- vious year, the data released by the In the financial account, net for- in the fourth quarter of 2023-24, up
ed a deficit of USD 8.7 billion, or RBI said. eign direct investment (FDI) flows from USD 1.7 billion a year earlier.
1.0 per cent of GDP. Furthermore, According to the RBI, this re- were recorded at USD 2.0 billion in Non-resident deposits also showed
it shows an improvement compared duction was supported by a notable the fourth quarter of 2023-24, which a marked improvement, with a
to the same period a year earlier, increase in services exports, which was a decline compared to USD 6.4 higher net inflow of USD 5.4 billion
Q4 of FY 2022-23, when the cur- grew by 4.1 per cent year-on-year in billion in the same period the previ- compared to USD 3.6 billion in Q4
rent account surplus was USD 1.3 the fourth quarter. This growth was ous year. However, foreign portfolio FY 2022-23.

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