1)INDIA - INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENTS
BY S. V. R. PARANGUSAM
(Abovo Photo of Bhakara Dam)
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Infrastructure - broadly means the basic facilities that are needed for the building up
of an Organization or a system – here, it refers to the country India and their lives, as
a whole - it reflects on India’s GDP - Economy, Standard of Living, Prosperity etc.

Infrastructure – mainly covers the following :


1. Irrigation – Dams and Canals (Agriculture)

2. Power - Thermal / Hydro- Electric / Nuclear

3. Transportation – Railways / Roads / Ports / Shipping / Civil Aviation

4. Information and Broadcasting – Radio / Television / News Media

5. Communications – Posts / Telegraphs / Telephones


‘ Better Infrastructure means Better Life ‘


1. Irrigation – Dams and Canals (Agriculture)
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Irrigation is a vital infrastructure for Agriculture - Dams are essential for it.
India is one of the major dam building countries – with about 4, 300 Dams.
They submerge about 37, 500 Sq.Km. and displaced over 42 Million people.

Some of the Major Dams across Major Rivers are :
1. Bhakra Nangal (Punjab/HP) 2. Hirakud (Orissa)
3. Nagarjuna Sagar (AP) 4. Mettur (Tamil Nadu)
5. Krishna Raja Sagar (Karnataka) 6. Koyna (Maharashtra)
7. Idukki (Kerala) 8. Sardar Sarovar (Gujarat)

Total Crop Area - 173 MHa (including Double Crop Area - 37 MHa).

The ultimate potential of major/medium projects is 58.46 MHa.
The cumulative potential of the minor projects is 81.43 MHa.
Surface Water Irrigation Schemes - 17. 38 MHa.
Ground Water Irrigation Schemes - 64. 05 MHa.

In 2000 - the total demand of water was 634 BCM.
By 2010 - the likely increased demand - 813 BCM.
By 2025 . the projected total demand - 1093 BCM.


Bhakra Dam : Across Sutlej River – Border of Punjab / Himachal Pradesh

Started - 1948 ; Completed - 1963. Cost - Rs. 240 Crores.
Creates Gobindsagar Reservoir - 166 Sq. Km.
Irrigates 10 M Acres ( 16, 000 Sq. Km. - 4 M Ha).
One of the highest Gravity Arch Dams; Steel Used - 100, 000 Tons.
Two Power Houses : Total Capacity – 1,000 MW.

Length at Top - 1700 ft. ; Widths at Top / Bottom - 30 / 625 ft.
Height - 741 ft . ( Hoover Dam (US) – 732 ft.) Ht. above river bed - 560 ft.
Elevation at Top - 1700 ft. above MSL.


2. Power - Thermal / Hydro – Electric / Nuclear.
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Power is one of the prime movers of economic development. The level of availability
and accessibility of affordable and quality power is one of the main determinants of
the quality of life.

The Generation Capacity of our Power at Independence was -only 1, 300 MW.
At Present -over 105. 000 MW.

Transmission and Distribution (TD) – Along with the tremendous growth in the
Generation Capacity, there has been a phenomenal increase in the TD Capacity.
However, despite these achievements, the Power sector has not kept pace with
the growth in Demand – with the result that the country has always faced energy
and peaking shortages.

During the 9th Five year Plan - against the target addition of - 40, 425 MW,
(1997 – 2002) the Capacity Addition was only - 19, 015 MW.

Thermal - 13, 597 MW.
Hydro – Electric - 4, 538 MW.
Nuclear - 880 MW.

The main reasons for the shortfall in capacity were – due to uneconomic Tariffs for Agriculture, lower slabs of Domestic Consumption, high TD Losses - often disguise
of large scale thefts, Billing and Collection deficiencies etc.

The others were – delays in Land Acquisition (LA), and Environmental Problems, Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) problems, Law and Order problems, etc.

In 10th Five Year Plan (2002-07), the Capacity Addition planned - 47, 000 MW.

The States leading in Power Reforms Path are - Delhi, UP and Haryana , Orissa,
Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka.


US - 12, 187 KWH /Per Capita/Year. India - 481 KWH/Per Capita/Year.


3. Transportation –
Railways, Roads, Ports, Shipping, Civil Aviation.
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An efficient Transport system is a pre-requisite for sustained economic developments. It’s not only a key infrastructure for the growth but also
plays a significant role in promoting National Integration – particularly
important for a large country - India. Though there has been tremendous
growths in the Transportation sector, the Network system has not been
able to keep pace with the overall developments and considerable inputs
are needed to overcome the shortfalls.

3.1. Railways.
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The total length of Rail network is – 79, 600 Km.( US – 230, 000 Km)
Broad Gauge – 61,000 Km. Meter Gauge – 15, 000 Km. Narrow – 3, 600 Km.

9th Plan (1997 – 2002) :
New lines added were - 662 Km.
Gauge(BG) Conversions - 2, 100 Km
Wagons - 65, 000. Elec. Locos – 343. Diesel Locos - 444.

Total: Wagons – 216, 717 ; Coaches - 39, 936 ; Locos – 7, 339.
Freight - 489 MT ( Target - 625 MT) - 30 % of Total.
Passengers - 5, 000 M ( Target – 6, 000 M) - 15 % of Total.
Trains - 14, 244 /daily ; Passenger Trains - 8, 702 / daily.

10th Plan (2002 – 2007) :
New lines proposed - 1, 310 Km. (Total - 21, 300 Km)
Gauge(BG) Conversions - 2, 365 Km. (Total - 10, 500 Km)
Doubling of Tracks - 1, 500 Km. (Total - 3, 900 Km)
Renewals:
BG - 20, 000 Km. MG - 7, 820 Km. Narrow - 1, 140 Km.
During the Renewals, the tracks on Golden Quadrilateral (GQ)
would be upgraded for moving of Freight Trains at 100 Km/hr.

Safety : Accidents Rate per Million Trains has dropped from 5.50 in 1960 – 61
to 0.65 only by 1999 – 2000 .

3.2 Roads.
============

Roads are the key to the development of Economy. Good Road Network
constitutes the basic infrastructure propelling the development - Connectivity
and opening of all the regions – Urban and Rural – for Trade and Commerce.
In addition, they play an important role in promoting National Integration.

The Categories of Indian Roads are :
National Highways - 58, 112 Km.
State Highways and
Major District Roads - 1, 24, 300 KM.
Rural Roads – Other District
Roads / Village Roads - 30, 00, 000 KM. (App)

However, there are many deficiencies : Poor Riding Quality / Pot Holes
Geometrics / Drainages etc. – because of the lack of proper Maintenance -
Mainly due to the paucity of adequate funds.
Carriageways – Mostly Single Lanes ; Paved Roads – About 20% only.
Four Lanes – About 13, 000 Km . Two Lanes - About 1,00, 000 Km only.

National Highways Authority of India :
Important project taken up is the National Highways Development Program –
Four laning of the Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) – NHs connecting Delhi /
Mumbai / Chennai / Kolkatta – 5,846 Km. and North – South , East – West
Corridors – 7, 300 Km. In addition, Four laning of Ports Connections and
Important Links – 1, 000 Km. - costing about Rs. 4, 000 Crores.
Total Cost – Over Rs. 55, 000 Crores.

Costs of Improvements (Rs. Crores)

1. Construction of Expressways 2, 000 KM 16, 000
2. Improvements to DL
a) Widening to 4 lanes 22, 000 KM 88, 000
b) Strengthening 19, 250 KM 14, 450
3. Widening – SL to DL 22, 522 KM 28, 150

4. Construction of Access
Controlled Bypasses 1, 200 KM 9, 000
5. Construction of Bridges 210 Nos. 425
6. Rehab. of Bridges 425 Nos. 320
7. Miscellaneous LS 8, 000

Total -- 1, 64, 345 ( 1, 65, 000)

Accidents : Death Toll - Over 80, 000 per year - About 21/10,000 vehicles.
(1 to 2 per 10, 000 Cars only in Advanced Countries)
3.3. Ports.

There are 12 Major and 184 Minor Ports on the 5, 560 Km. coastlines.
The Major Ports are :
West – Kandla, Mumbai, Nava Sheve, Marmagao, New Mangalore, Cochin.
East - Kolkatta Haldia, Paradip,Vizag, Chennai, Ennore, Tuticorin.

Traffic - Major Ports handle - 75% ; Minor Ports - 25 %.
9th Plan : Plan Outlay – Rs. 9,428 Crores.
Projected Traffic - 429 MT. ; Major Ports – 300 MT.
10th Plan : Plan projection – at a growth rate of 6% per annum.
Major Ports – 415 MT ; Others - 150 MT.
Plan Outlay – Rs. 5, 418 Crores.

US : 360 Commercial Ports – 2 BT Domestic/International Freights.


3.4. Shipping
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Shipping plays a major role in providing international trade and overall economic developments; India has 102 Shipping Companies and owns a fleet of 562 vessels with Gross Tonnage of 6.91 MT (as on 31. 3. 2002).

The Shipping Corporation of India – India’s largest carrier – owns 97 ships accounting for 2.64 MT ( 40% of Total).

Overseas Trade – Shipping covers 90% of volume and 68% of value of totals.

10th Plan outlay – Rs. 6,273 Crores.


3.5. Inland Water Transport
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India has navigable waterways of 14, 544 KM.;
National Waterways – 2,500 KM.; Major Rivers – 5, 200 KM.; Canals – 485 Km.

Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) & Central Inland Water Transport
Corporation (CIWTC ) (Principal Operator) are the two Central Agencies engaged
in the Development of Inland Water Transport.in India.

10th Plan outlay - Rs. 903 Crores.


3.6. Civil Aviation
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Civil Aviation has played an important role in India’s economy. It provides a fast and reliable mode of transport – especially to the areas not well connected by rail or roads.

This infrastructure facility is provided by the Airports Authority of India. It covers
94 - Civil Airports ; 11 - International Airports : Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkatta, Chennai,
Hyderabad, Bangalore, Trivandrum, Ahmedabad, Goa, Amristar and Guwahati.

Indian Airlines and Air India are the country’s two major airlines. Indian Airlines flies
to 64 Domestic and 16 International destinations, carrying over 35,000 Passengers/day.
IA plans to introduce flights to Europe / USA soon.
AI has 12 Women Pilots and 5 Trainee Pilots.

IA Fleet : In Service - 68 Nos. Recently Ordered - 43 Nos.
4 - Air Bus A 300 B 4 19 - Air Bus A 319
47 - Air Bus A 319 4 - Air Bus A 320
11 - Boeing 737 – 200 20 - Air Bus A 321
2 - Dornier 228
4 - ATR 42

AI Fleet : In Service - 42 Nos. Orders Placed - 68 Nos.
19 - Air Bus A 310 8 - Boeing 777 – 200 LR Worldliners
15 - Boeing 747 15 - Boeing 777 – 300 ER
4 - Boeing 777 27 - Boeing 787 - 8 Dreamliners
4 - Boeing 737 18 - Boeing 727 – 800 W (AI Express)
Also A 380 / Boeing 747 – 800s

In 2000-01, 42 M Domestic and International Passengers and 846.42 TT of cargo were handled at the various airports. With increasing globalization, this sector will play even
a more significant role in integrating the country’s economy with the rest of the world.

The 9th Plan outlay was Rs. 11,112 Crores. Expenditure was Rs. 6, 600 Crores only.
The lower expenditure was due to certain constraints – National Airlines AI and IA –
did not go in for fleet augmentation, partly because of resource crunches and partly
due to proposed disinvestment of these Airlines.

However, in the 10th Plan, world class infrastructure facilities and efficient, safe and
reliable air services to meet the domestic/foreign trade /tourism are the main objectives.
The Plan outlay is about Rs. 13,000 Crores.

US : #1 Atlanta - 83.6 Millions.; #2 Chicago –75.3 M ; #21 San Francisco -33.5 M.


4. Information and Broadcasting , News Media
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Fast paced technological developments and innovative applications have resulted in
Information and Broadcasting services going to unprecedented reaches. Now, it is possible for India to deliver a big basket of services including Telephony, TV and
Internet thro’ a common delivery system.

The monopoly of DD has ended with the emergence of over 80 private channels
beaming thro’ Cable Networks – many of them continuously for 24 hrs. daily..

Radio Stations - over 3000
Radios - 116 Millions.
TVs - 63 Millions ( US – 230 M )
Internets - 5 Millions
News Papers - 188 (Many Languages)
- 3, 300 (in US)



The 9th Plan outlay was about Rs. 3,275 Crores.
The 10th Plan outlay is about Rs. 5,130 Crores.


5. Communications - Posts / Telegraphs / Telephones
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5.1 Posts / Telegraphs :
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Indian Postal system is the largest in the world.
No. of Post Offices : 1, 54, 919 ; Employees - 6, 00, 000.


5.2. Telecommunications :
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Telecom is one of the prime support services needed for the growth and modernization
of various sectors of economy. It has become especially important in recent years due
to the enormous growth of the Information Technology (IT) in India globally with its
significant impact on the rest of the economy. Keeping this in view, the focus has to be
on the provision of world class Telecom facilities at reasonable rates. The provision of
proper Telecom services in Rural Areas would be another thrust area to attain the goal
of accelerated economic development and social upliftment.

Telecom Network ( As on 31 .3. 2002)
Total Exchanges - 35, 023 Fixed Lines - 385.95 lakhs.
Rural Exchanges - 26, 953 Mobile Cells - 64.31 lakhs.
TAX Lines - 3, 42, 700 Total - 450.26 lakhs..
Village Public Tel . - 4, 68, 000 Tele Density - 4.40 / 100 persons
Internet Connections - 45, 00, 000


International Telecom Developments ( in lakhs)

No./ Country/ Fixed/ Mobile/ Total/ Tele Density Nos./100 persons

1./ USA/ 1900 .00/ 1270 .00/ 3170 .00/ 110.88
2./ UK/ 353 .26/ 270 .26/ 823 .52/ 137.02
3./ Australia/ 100 .60/ 111 .69/ 212 .29/ 109.99
4./ Japan/ 760 .00/ 748 .19/ 1508/19/ 118.45
5./ Brazil/ 374 .31/ 287 .46/ 661 .77/ 38.52
6./ Mexico/ 137 .73/ 217 .57/ 355 .30/ 35.39
7./ S. Africa/ 49 .69/ 91 .97/ 141 .66/ 32.36
8./ China/ 1790 .34/ 1448 .12/ 3238 .46/ 24.98
9./ Malaysia/ 47 .38/ 71 .28/ 118 .66/ 49.86
10./ Pakistan/ 34 .00/ 8 .00/ 42 .00/ 2.90
11./ India/ 385 .95/ 64 .31/ 450 .26/ 4.40

A/ Asia/ 3911 .79/ 3366 .14/ 7277 .93/ 20.17
B/ World/ 10460 .88/ 9462 .97/ 19923 .85/ 32.78


GDP / PPP - Overall Economy / Standard of Living
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GDP – Gross Domestic Product - the value of all final goods and services produced
within a nation in a given year.
PPP - Purchasing Power Parity - is an estimate of the Exchange Rate required to
equalize the purchasing power of different countries, based on the prices of
goods and services in the countries concerned.

GDP/Per Capita - used for many purposes – mainly to compare the Standard of Living.


GDP /PPP Data - For 2005 ( in Million US $ )

No Country GDP PPP(IMF) PPP (WB)

World 44, 433, 002 61, 078, 260 55, 938, 191
European Unions 13, 446, 050 12, 427, 413 12, 020, 939
Asia 11, 046, 708

1, USA 12, 485, 725 12, 277, 583 11, 651, 110
2. Japan 4, 571, 314 3, 910, 728 3, 737, 289
3. Germany 2, 797, 343
4. China 2, 224, 811 9, 412, 361 7, 642, 283
5. UK 2, 201, 473
6. France 2, 105, 864
7. Italy 1, 766, 160
8. Canada 1, 130, 208
9. Spain 1, 126, 565
10. South Korea 793, 070
11. Brazil 792, 683
12. India 775, 410 3, 633, 441 3, 389, 670


Standard of Living - GDP(PPP) / Per Capita
=============================================

1. Luxembourg $ 69, 800 / year
2. Norway $ 42, 314 / year
3. US $ 41, 399 / year.

16. Japan $ 30, 615 / year.
18. UK $ 30, 470 / year
84. China $ 7, 204 / year.

122. India $ 3, 344 / year.
128. Pakistan $ 2, 628 / year
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2) INDIA - 11 th FIVE YEAR PLAN (2007 –12)
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India’s 11th 5 Year Plan (2007–12) for Rs36.44 Trillions ($ 910 Billions) was approved by Dr. Manmohan Singh, Chairman and Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, of the NDC (National Development Council) on 19th Dec 2007, with main promises to accelerate the growth and make it more inclusive.
Dr. Manmohan Singh, Hon’ble PM refers this Plan as the Education Plan with an Outlay of 19 % of the Total Plan Outlay – to increase Literacy.
The Plan envisages sustained high GDP growth momentum and to push it to 10 %. Towards faster and more inclusive growth are the main thrusts of this Plan and seeks to lower Poverty by 10 % and generate 70 Million new jobs -to reduce the Educated Unemployment to less than 5 %. Also to increase the
Agricultural GDP Growth to 4 % per year to target 8 % by the end of Plan.

Healthcare has been granted an Outlay of Rs 1360 Billions to reduce Total Fertility,Infant Mortality and Maternal Mortality Rates and Malnutrition.

Raising the Sex Ratio - Ensuring that at least 33 % of the direct / indirect beneficiaries of all government schemes are Women and Girls and also to
curtail Child Labo worthy.

Ensuring Electricity connection and round the clock Power to all villages.
Enhancing good Road connections – connecting all villages by Telephones and Broadband connectivity are envisaged.

Increasing Forest and Tree cover - attaining WHO Standards of Air Quality and to Treat all Urban Waste Water to clean river water are also proposed.

As many as 27 detailed National Targets from Enhancing Persons Incomes, Education, Literacy, Healthcare, Child Development and Reducing Poverty, Infant Mortality, Maternal Mortality are the highlights of this 5 Year Plan.
(Writer is a former Director General(Roads), Ministry of Transport, Govt. of India.)
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