ABSTRACT
The Indian infrastructure sector continues its sluggish journey in 2012, marked by poor macroeconomic forces, policy gridlock and political instability. Delays in land acquisition and environmental clearances continue to be key areas of concern, while the poor enforcement of contracts, ineffective monitoring and high input costs are also factors that are hindering growth. Nonetheless, some areas have witnessed progress. The telecom sector saw the emergence of the National Telecom Policy, a cohesive document covering a broad range of communication services. In both civil aviation and power sectors, the Government of India has approved foreign investment of 49 per cent, bringing relief to the heavily leveraged public and private companies. However, several events in the infrastructure sector have been disappointing this year — the telecom sector dealt with the fallout of the 2G scam, the power sector witnessed the coal scam and the grid collapse, the roads and urban sectors saw the poor private participation, and the civil aviation sector witnessed the poor financial health of the airport and airline operators.
