Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday allocated â¹1.7 lakh crore towards transport infrastructure as she read out the Union Budget 2020.
The FM said that the air traffic in this year had witnessed a stellar rise in comparison to past years. To improve the air connectivity, the FM announced to build 100 more airports by 2025 to support the UDAN scheme. The move is a part of the national infrastructure plan.
Touching upon the road transport she proposed 9,000 km economic corridor and 2,000 km coastal corridor and strategic highways. The minister announced that the Delhi – Mumbai expressway will be finished by 2023. The expressway is aimed to shorten the travel duration between the two important cities. Work on Chennai- Bengaluru expressway has also started.
To augment India’s infrastructure and create jobs, the government has also launched â¹103 lakh crore infra projects, under national infrastructure pipeline (NIP), to develop social and economic infrastructure in the next five years. ‘There are 6,500 projects across various sectors, including housing, water, clean energy, healthcare for all, education, airports, irrigation projects,’ Sitharaman said, adding that these projects will create jobs for youth.
The government has proposed a project preparation facility for infrastructure projects. The government will soon release the National Logistics Policy, which will clarify the roles of the Union Government, State Governments and key regulators.
It is aimed to create a single-window e-logistics market and focus on the generation of employment, skills and making MSMEs competitive. On ports, the FM said the government would consider corporatising at least one major port and subsequently its listing on the stock exchanges.
On Inland Waterways, the FM announced it had received a significant boost in last five years, adding that Jal Vikas Margon National Waterway-1 will be completed. The 890 km Dhubri-Sadiya connectivity will also be completed by 2022.
In the energy sector, the FM announced a budget allocation of â¹22,000 crore. The government has also proposed to expand the national gas grid from the present 16,200 km to 27,000 km.
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