As the ‘dance of democracy’ plays out, a debate on opportunities captured or missed during the outgoing government’s tenure is inevitable. A focal area of the NDA has been its work on the infrastructure sector. There has been a marked step-up in the scale and speed of implementation, albeit with varying degrees of success across sectors. Roads and railways have demonstrated visible gains towards achieving global standards. But relatively slower progress was seen in ports, inland waterways, water management, and power transmission and distribution sectors. These verticals should be the obvious areas of focus for the new government.
The power sector has been a mixed story. There have been massive gains in generation, leading to a power-surplus status. Successful implementation of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana, Integrated Power Development Scheme and Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana ‘Saubhagya’ will lead to exponential growth in per capita consumption of electricity.
