Economic Survey 2022: Mapping India’s Infrastructure Boom Across The 2010s

Continuing the tradition from the previous years, the Economic Survey of 2022 employs geospatial data gathered from satellites, smart devices, drones, and other anonymous data sources to map the long-term development and impact of India’s infrastructure boom, especially after the Narendra Modi Government took office in 2014.

Firstly, the survey compares the night-time luminosity between 2012 and 2021. Extensive data gathered from satellites offers an insightful representation of the expansion of electricity supply, one of the biggest successes of the Modi government that began with the promise of taking electricity to every village in India.

The night-time luminosity is also a testament to the increasing economic activity, more rural areas graduating to become rurban (rural+urban areas), and the growth of ribbon developments between urban hubs, especially on the outskirts of the city. Interestingly, the luminosity data is validated within the same chapter for the National Capital Region via the comparison between the urban density of 2001 and 2021.

India’s electricity expansion warrants attention beyond the maps for the marvel is in the maths. In 2014-15, India’s total power generation, including renewable energy sources, was a little around 1,100 billion units, registering a growth of 8.84 per cent from the previous year. For 2015-16, the growth was at 5.69 per cent, 5.80 per cent for 2016-17, 5.35 per cent for 2017-18, 5.19 per cent for 2018-19 before dipping to 0.95 per cent in 2019-20 and declining by 2.45 per cent in the pandemic year of 2020-21. However, for 2021-22, the growth is estimated to be more than 9 per cent, thus reversing the red from the pandemic years.

Two, the highway network. In August 2011, India’s national highway network was around 72,000 kilometres. However, by 2021, this almost doubled to 140,000 kilometres. Already, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has said the Government is expeditiously developing a national highway network of two lakh kilometres by 2025.

In the same event, in November 2021, Gadkari said construction of 65,000 km of national highways is being done under the Bharatmala Phase 1 and 2. He said there is a plan to develop around 35,000 km of highways under Bharatmala Phase-1 with an overall capital expenditure of over Rs 10 lakh crore, of which 20,000 km is already under construction.

The ministry has been working overnight to construct and develop new highways, thus registering some staggering numbers. During the financial year of 2020-21, the Road Transport and Highways Ministry had constructed 8,169 kilometres of National Highways from April 2020 to 15 January 2021, i.e. with a speed of around 28.16 kilometres per day. During the same period in the preceding financial year, a total of 7,573 kilometres of roads were constructed, with a speed of 26.11 kilometres per day, according to the data made available by the ministry.

One of the greater successes within this staggering highway network was the connectivity established between the rural clusters and urban centres, as evident by the maps in the survey.

Three is the number of operational airports. As per the survey, between November 2016, and December, 2021, the number of operational airports more than doubled from 62 to 130. States like Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and more importantly, the North-East. A lot of this development and the growth in the number of airports had to do with the UDAN programme, launched in 2016, with an aim to boost regional connectivity. As of November 2021, a total of 395 routes had been commenced under the UDAN programme.

Four is the increase in the network of commercial bank branches. Between March 2011 and March 2021, the number of commercial bank branches across India increased from around 74,000 to more than 122,000. The increase in the spread of the commercial bank network is a testament to the financial inclusion the government has been striving for since its first day.