Service sector

Sol – 

Ten years ago, India was the 10th largest economy in the world, with a GDP of $1.9 trillion. Today, it ranks 5th with a GDP of $3.7 trillion (estimated for FY24). Furthermore, India is expected to become the third-largest economy in the world with a GDP of $5 trillion in the next three years and to reach $7 trillion by 2030, driven by ongoing reforms. These growth prospects hinge on both digital and physical infrastructure.

Physical infrastructure – 

• Increased Capex 11.11 lakh crore [3.4% of GDP]
  • Capex tripled in last 5 years 
• Viability gap funding scheme 
• National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) 
• National Investment & Infrastructure Fund 
• National Infra Pipeline – Projected investment of around ₹111 lakh crore for FY20-25
• National monetization pipeline – Target – 6 Lakh crore by 2025
• PM gatishakti national master plan – For Integrated Planning and Coordinated Implementation
• National Logistics Policy 2022 – For an integrated, seamless, efficient, reliable, green, sustainable and cost-effective logistics network
• Mechanisms like InvITs and REITs 
• Multi-Modal Transport System 
• Schemes –
  • Rail – Vande Bharat Express, Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail, Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) Project, Hyperloop Technology Development
    • A safety fund of 1 Lakh crore
  • Air – UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik) 
  • Port – Sagarmala
  • Road – Bharatmala, Pradhan Mantri gram Sadak yojana
  • Waterways
    • Inland Vessels Act 2021 
    • National Waterways Act 2016

However, there are still gaps in Physical infra like – 

1. India’s infrastructure finance gap is $ 1 Bn per day
2. Delay in projects (an average delay of three years) due to Land acquisition, Forest and environment clearance, safety concerns (Ex – kudankulam nuclear power plant Protest etc 
3. Low Gross fixed capital formation (% of GDP)
   • India – Approx 30% [China – 42%]
4. Poor efficiency – Logistic Cost 14 to 18% of GDP, global average 8%

Digital infrastructure –

• Digital Public Infrastructure – To improve financial literacy, innovation, entrepreneurship, employment generation, and empower beneficiaries
  • E-rupi
  • E-way bill
  • DigiLocker
  • MyGov
  • Unified Mobile Application for New-Age Governance (UMANG) App 
    • Four hundred and eighty-nine DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) schemes were made live on UMANG
    • DBT has led to savings of ₹2.7 lakh crore
  • Unified Payment Interface
• Production Linked Incentive (PLI) for telecom and networking products
• Bharat Net Project – accessibility, affordability, connectivity, and inclusivity pan-India
• Digital India as an umbrella programme, was launched in 2015
• GatiShakti Sanchar portal was launched on 14 May 2022. This portal will streamline the process of Right of Way (RoW) applications and permissions across the country
• Open resources on Artificial Intelligence 

However, there are still problems in Digital infra like –

1. Digital Divide – urban and rural areas, and among different socio-economic groups [Like Gender and class] 
2. Cybersecurity 
3. Regulatory Environment

Conclusion type  

1. Target – The vision of $1 trillion digital economy by 2025
2. India has set an ambitious target of becoming a ‘developed country’ by 2047. With the ongoing journey of building physical and digital infrastructure, this goal is indeed achievable.