Infomerics report on infra development

Infrastructure development in the country has witnessed growing private sector participation in 2020-21; however, requirements have surged because of inadequate coverage and service level, poor service quality, institutional delinquencies and high administrative costs.

These are among the major findings of a report released on September 15 by Infomerics Valuation and Rating, an RBI-accredited financial services credit rating company.

The report, titled ‘Roads and Highways Industry Report: Trends and Prospects’, has revealed that while infrastructure financing underwent a paradigm shift in the post-reforms period, there is still a fair distance to traverse. There are also issues, it said, of poor maintenance and cost recovery, unsustainable resource management practices, high investment needs and project costs and low priority accorded to certain basic services.

A spokesperson for Infomerics said, “The report notes that the evolving pattern of the level of basic infrastructure indicates accentuation of regional imbalances and associated spatially uneven patterns in infrastructure across states because of deeply ingrained historical, demographic, structural and institutional factors, infusion of large and continuous investment and divergent priority of different state governments.”