India plans 100t rupee investment in infrastructure to boost growth

New Delhi

INDIA aims to invest 100 trillion rupees (S$1.83 trillion) in infrastructure to boost economic growth and create jobs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday, laying out national priorities on the country's 75th Independence Day.

The investments will be made in India's logistics sector to help integrate the country's varied modes of transport, Mr Modi said in a national address from the historic Red Fort in capital New Delhi. "This will cut travel time and increase industry productivity. It will help make Indian industry globally competitive and develop future economic zones."

India plans to attract manufacturing investments to support its post-pandemic economy as it competes for global supply chains looking to move out of China.

Mr Modi last week called for a target of US$400 billion in exports this financial year after last year's numbers fell 7.2 per cent to US$290.6 billion. The government has also pushed for a rationalisation of labour laws, sought to reform agriculture and to amend tax laws amid rising risks to growth, including inflation.

Mr Modi aims to wind down India's energy imports in the next 25 years as part of the nation's carbon efficiency goals.

"For India to be self-reliant it is imperative that it becomes energy independent. India will become energy independent by its 100th independence day."

The road map to energy self-reliance includes making India a global hub for green hydrogen and aiming for its railways to be a net-zero carbon emitter by 2030, Mr Modi said.

India, the world's third-largest energy consumer and oil importer, buys 85 per cent of its oil needs and pays 12 trillion rupees a year towards energy imports, Mr Modi said, adding that the government is focusing on expanding gas-based fuel and electricity-driven mobility.

With global investors increasingly restricting support to companies contributing to carbon footprints, Mr Modi's government is incentivising Indian businesses to completely shift to renewable energy from a fossil-fuel dominated operation. The country plans to expand its renewable-power capacity almost five-fold by 2030 to meet its de-carbonisation targets. BLOOMBERG