Infra players demand higher allocation

The captains of infrastructure building industry have unanimously demanded higher budgetary allocation in the upcoming Budget and also asked for tax breaks to reinvigorate the industry. "Over the last few years, the government has been trying to address the impediments to the infrastructure growth story. However, investment in the sector is yet to reach the desired level," said Partner, Consulting, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India, Vishwas Udgirkar, adding that budgetary allocations are expected to increase and with bank capitalization taking place due to demonetization, it would be interesting to see if any announcements are made to facilitate channelizing this much needed capital to the sector. According to Partner Leader Infrastructure with PwC, Manish Agarwal, public sector spending is expected to remain the prime driver for infrastructure build-out over the next year as private sector investment remain subdued. "Financial stress in the banking system remains a key hurdle to private investment coming back into the sector. Addressing this, along with implementation of Kelkar Committee recommendations, could revive PPPs faster,” he added.