Infrastructure – Policies, plans and schemes of development

According to dictionary, infrastructure is a basic and usually permanent framework which supports a superstructure and is supported by a substructure. Mainly it is a moderate permanent foundational capital investment of a country, a firm, or a project that underlies and makes its, all economic activity possible.

It includes administrative, telecommunications, transportation, utilities, and waste removal and processing facilities. Some definitions include education, health care, research and development, and training facilities.

Infrastructure is defined to include electricity, including non-conventional energy, telecommunications, roads and bridges, railways, ports, airports, irrigation, water supply and sanitation, storage and gas distribution sectors.The rapid growth of the Indian economy in recent years has placed increasing stress on physical infrastructure i.e. electricity, railways, roads, ports, irrigation, water supply and sanitation, all of which already suffer from deficit in terms of capacities as well as efficiencies.

Investment in Infrastructure

The investment required by the Central and State Governments and the private sector in each of major physical infrastructure sectors for sustaining desired a growth rate.

Co-operation of State Governments

In a developing country like India, cooperation and support of State Governments is essential for development of world class infrastructure. The State Governments’ support in maintenance of law and order, land acquisition, rehabilitation and settlement of displaced persons, shifting of utilities and obtaining environmental clearances is necessary. Many State Governments have also initiated several major projects to improve infrastructure

Strategy for Infrastructure development

The public sector is a natural supplier of infrastructure services only where the service involved is of a basic nature, with relatively Sow expectations of quality and a low ability to pay.The economic rationale for private investment in infrastructure has to be grounded in the expectation that private sector suppliers, operating within a competitive framework, will reduce costs to the economy and thus promote efficiency. It is important to distinguish here between costs to the economy and costs to the consumer.

Prospects for the future

The design and development of a sustainable innovation infrastructure should take into account global best practices, attraction, attachment, retention and renovation of talent within the research and development streams, public private partnerships, venture and angel financing and capacity building. Faster growth in a globally competitive market environment demands a national innovation infrastructure that connects knowledge systems to wealth creation efficiently and effectively.

Benefits

Innovation is not only about technology, but is also about understanding and exploring untapped user needs that require to be talked in an efficient manner. It must occur at every stage of a product or solution development and release cycle.In the ever-changing world, innovation is the only key which can sustain long-run growth of the country. More and more firms are realizing the importance of innovation to gain competitive advantage. Accordingly, they are engaging themselves in various innovative activities, ranging from manufacturing processes, product improvement, and brand building initiatives to customer satisfaction. Today, business environment has become very dynamic with more demanding customers and intense market competition. To meet this, firms are creating new products, solutions and services that provide a radically better experience for the consumers.

The remaining backlogs

There are still millions of people who do not have access to clean running water, sanitation, telephones and electricity.  Infrastructure program for the next decade must ensure that we get rid of these backlogs so that every citizen can enjoy these services.

Conclusion

Gaining full benefits of innovation requires an effective and efficient framework across a wide range of policy areas, calling for an integrated approach and cooperation between business, governments and society.