Infrastructure at the Core of India’s Development (PIB)

Why in the news?

The Government highlighted major infrastructure achievements over the past 12 years across transport, logistics, water, housing, energy, and digital sectors, emphasizing their role in achieving Viksit Bharat 2047.

1. Railways

• Railway budgetary support increased from ₹32,000 crore (2014-15) to ₹2.78 lakh crore (2026-27).
• Railway electrification:
  • About 20% before 2014
  • 99.6% by March 2026
  • 69,873 route km electrified.
• Vande Bharat trains: 162 services operational (April 2026).
• Vande Bharat Sleeper: launched in January 2026.
• Amrit Bharat Express: 60 services operational.
• Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor
  • Length: 508 km
  • Design speed: 320 kmph.
• Amrit Bharat Station Scheme (2023): 208 stations redeveloped out of 1,338 identified.
• Kavach:
  • Indigenous Automatic Train Protection System.
  • Operational on 3,103 route km.
  • Installed on 4,277 locomotives.
• Train accidents declined from 135 (2014-15) to 16 (2025-26).

Important Railway Projects

• Chenab Bridge (2025): World’s highest railway arch bridge. Height: 359 m above Chenab River.
• Anji Khad Bridge: India’s first cable-stayed railway bridge.
• Pamban Bridge (2025): India’s first vertical-lift railway sea bridge.
• Bairabi-Sairang Railway Line: Connects Mizoram. Length: 51.38 km.

Roads and Highways

• India’s road network: 63.73 lakh km and Second largest globally.
• National Highways:
  • 91,287 km (FY14)
  • 1,46,566 km (March 2026).
• Four-lane and above highways: 18,371 km to 45,516 km.
• Access-controlled expressways: 3,644 km operational.

PMGSY

• Rural habitations connected: 99.6% eligible habitations.
• Completed roads: 4.11 lakh km (2014-26).
• Bridges completed: 10,293.

Bharatmala Pariyojana

• Approved: 2017.
• Roads completed: 22,590 km.

Landmark Projects

• Z-Morh (Sonamarg) Tunnel, Sudarshan Setu, Maitri Setu over Feni River, Atal Tunnel, Dr. Syama Prasad Mukherjee Tunnel, Dhola-Sadiya Bridge.

2. Civil Aviation

• Operational airports: 74 (2014) and 165 (2026).
• Investments: Over ₹1.4 lakh crore.

UDAN

• Launched: 2016.
• Routes operational: 665 routes.
• Connected: 95 airports/heliports/water aerodromes.
• Beneficiaries: Over 1.64 crore passengers.
• Modified UDAN (2026): Outlay: ₹28,840 crore.

Digi Yatra

• Facial recognition-based travel.
• Operational at 38 airports.

GAGAN

• Operational since 2015.
• World’s first equatorial Satellite-Based Augmentation System (SBAS).

3. Metro and RRTS

• Metro network: 248 km (2014) to 1,155+ km (2026).
• India has the third-largest metro network.
• Metro cities: 5 to 26.

Notable Developments

• Kolkata: India’s first underwater metro tunnel.
• Kochi: India’s first Water Metro.
• Namo Bharat: Delhi-Meerut RRTS.

4. Ports and Waterways

• Major port capacity: 873 MMTPA (2014) to 1,726 MMTPA (2026).
• Cargo handled: 581 MMT to 915 MMT.
• Vessel turnaround: 94 hours to 48.8 hours.

Sagarmala Programme

• Launched: 2015.
• Projects completed: 78.

Inland Waterways

• National Waterways: 5 (2014) to 111 (2026).
• Operational waterways: 32.
• Cargo movement: 29 MMT to 218 MMT.

Jal Marg Vikas Project

• On National Waterway-1.
• Stretch: Varanasi to Haldia.

Arth Ganga

• Community jetties: 66 operational.

5. Industrial Infrastructure

• Industrial parks mapped: 4,220.
• Plug-and-play parks: 272 operational.
• Industrial smart cities approved: 20.

BHAVYA Scheme

• Approved: March 2026.
• Objective: Develop 100 plug-and-play industrial parks.

6. Logistics

PM GatiShakti

• Launched: 2021.
• GIS platform integrating: 58 Ministries/Departments.
• Data layers: 3,202+.

National Logistics Policy

• Launched: 2022.
• India’s Logistics Performance Index rank: 54 (2014) to 38 (2023).

Digital Logistics Platforms

• ULIP (2022).
• Logistics Data Bank (2016).
• NETC FASTag (2016).

PRAGATI

• Launched: 2015.
• Projects reviewed: 382.
• Value: ₹85 lakh crore.

7. Water Infrastructure

Jal Jeevan Mission

• Launched: 2019.
• Rural tap coverage: 17% at launch to 81.94% (June 2026).
• Households covered: 15.86 crore.

Other Initiatives

• PMKSY (2015), Namami Gange (2014), Ken-Betwa Link Project (2021, FloodWatch India App, and Dam Safety Act, 2021.

8. Housing

PMAY-U

• Launched: 2015.
• Houses sanctioned: 125.31 lakh.
• Houses completed: 98.10 lakh.
• PMAY-U 2.0: One crore additional beneficiaries by 2028-29.

PMAY-G

• Launched: 2016.
• Houses completed: 3.06 crore.

SWAMIH Fund

• Launched: 2019.
• Corpus: ₹15,531 crore.

AMRUT

• Launched: 2015.
• Projects sanctioned: ₹2.79 lakh crore.

9. Energy

• Installed capacity: 248 GW (2014) to 532.74 GW (2026).
• Power shortage: 4.2% to 0.03%.

Renewable Energy

India is: 3rd largest clean energy capacity holder and 4th largest installed wind energy producer.

Important Schemes

• PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana (2024).
• GOBARdhan Scheme (2018).
• Saubhagya Scheme (2017).

International Initiatives

• International Solar Alliance:
  • 125 member countries.
• Global Biofuels Alliance:
  • 33 countries and 14 organisations.

10. LPG and Clean Cooking

• LPG coverage:
  • 55.9% (2014)
  • 107.2% (2026).
• LPG consumers:
  • 14.51 crore to 33.39 crore.

PM Ujjwala Yojana

• Launched: 2016.
• Additional 25 lakh connections approved in FY26.

11. Digital Infrastructure

• Internet connections: 25.15 crore to 100.29 crore.
• Broadband:6.1 crore to 99.56 crore.
• Monthly data usage: 61.66 MB to 24.01 GB.

PM-WANI

• Launched: 2020.
• Wi-Fi hotspots: 4.10 lakh+.

5G

• Available in 99.9% districts.
• 5.08 lakh BTS installed.

JAM Trinity

• Jan Dhan.
• Aadhaar.
• Mobile.

UPI

• March 2026:
  • 2,264 crore transactions.
  • ₹29.53 lakh crore value.
• Operational in:
  • UAE, Singapore, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, France, Mauritius, and Qatar.

Important Digital Platforms

• DigiLocker, UMANG, Common Service Centres, eHospital, PM e-Vidya, DIKSHA, SWAYAM.

[2025] Consider the following statements:
I. Indian Railways have prepared a National Rail Plan (NRP) to create a future ready railway system by 2028.
II. Kavach’ is an Automatic Train Protection system, development in collaboration with Germany.
III. ‘Kavach’ system consists of RFID tags fitted on track in station section.
Which of the statements given above are not correct?

[A] I and II only

[B] II and III only

[C] I and III only

[D] I, II and III