Budget 2022: Ushering a Golden Era in the Indian Infrastructure Landscape

This Budget seeks to lay the foundation and give a blueprint to steer the economy over the AmritKaal of the next 25 years – from India at 75 to India at 100. It continues to build on the vision drawn in the Budget of 2021-22. Its fundamental tenets, which included transparency of financial statement and fiscal position, reflect the government’s intent, strengths, and challenges. This continues to guide us. – Smt. Nirmala Sitaraman

The Union Budget of 2022-2023 that estimates India’s economic growth at 9.2% amidst the Omicron wave entered with a strong statement into the AmritKaal, that ushers India@100 with its goal at a macroeconomic level growth. It focusses to promote public and private investments, development backed by technology, digital economy, fintech, energy and climate action. Building on the Budget of 2021-2022, this Budget of 2022-2023 acknowledges strengthening of health infrastructure, Productivity Linked Incentive for achieving the vision of AtmaNirbhar Bharat, commencement of activities of the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) and National Asset Reconstruction Company and continues to provide a blueprint for India@100 along with a multi-modal approach guided by PM GatiShakti.

PM GatiShakti

Propelled by seven engines, namely, Roads, Railways, Airports, Ports, Mass Transport, Waterways, and Logistics Infrastructure and supported by Energy Transmission, IT Communication, Bulk Water & Sewerage, Social Infrastructure, Clean Energy and Public Private Partnership (PPP), PM GatiShakti is aimed to steer sustainable development, economic transformation, seamless multimodal connectivity and logistics efficiency comprising the State Government infrastructure and National Infrastructure Pipeline.  

Roads: Expansion of National Highways network by 25,000 km in 2022-23 along with mobilization of 20,000 crore

Seamless Multimodal Movement and Logistics: Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) for data exchange to improve the logistics scenario in India by adopting a unified and integrated view of the Indian logistics value chain. Further boost has been facilitated through implementation of Multimodal Logistics Parks at four locations through PPP mode.

Railways: Introduction of 400 new Vande Bharat trains, 100 PM Gati Shakti cargo terminals in the next three years, bringing 2,000 km of network under the indigenous world class technology Kavach, along with redevelopment and modernization of the stations, integration of Postal and Railways networks, aiding local business and supply chain through ‘One Station-One Product’ concept are a few measures to ensure next generation of energy efficient trains, better passenger experience and seamless movement.

Connectivity: Multimodal connectivity between mass urban transport and railway stations is envisaged. Innovative solutions such as National Ropeways Development Programme on PPP mode has found a place in the Budget wherein 8 ropeway projects for a length of 60 km will be awarded.

Inclusive Development

Financing startups for agriculture and rural enterprise through a fund with blended capital raised under the co-investment model, facilitated through NABARD has been provided. River linking projects and finalization of Detailed Project Report for linking of 5 rivers has also been contemplated.

Extension of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme up to March 2023 and expansion of its guarantee cover by 50,000 crores to total cover of 5 lakh crores in order to aid the MSME sector with additional credit has been put forward. 

Infusion of funds in the Credit Guarantee Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises scheme and an outlay of 6,000 crore in the Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP) programme shall assist in additional credit, employment opportunities and infusing competitiveness, efficiency and resilience in the MSME sector. Allocation of 48,000 crores for affordable housing covering 80 lakh houses along with reduction of time required for approvals related to land and construction is a step to ensure housing for all.

Under the Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North-East, PM-DevINE, scheme, an initial allocation of 1,500 crore has been presented for funding infrastructure and social development projects such as roads and ropeways. The Budget also proposes construction of village infrastructure, tourist centres, road connectivity and provisioning of decentralized renewable energy.

Productivity Enhancement & Investment, Sunrise Opportunities, Energy Transition, and Climate Action

Bosting ease of doing business, expanding the scope of single window portal for all green clearances, urban development especially of 2 and 3 tier cities, modernization of building byelaws, implementation of Town Planning Schemes (TPS), and Transit Oriented Development (TOD) are a few other measures proposed by the Budget. 

In order to promote clean and sustainable mobility emphasis on clean tech and governance solutions, special mobility zones with zero fossil-fuel policy, and EV vehicles is given.

Impetus has been given to government procurement by introducing reforms such as use of transparent quality criteria, payment of 75 per cent of running bills within 10 days, settlement  through conciliation, end-to-end online e-Bill System, and use of surety bonds instead of bank guarantee. 

The Budget has also used PPP as the mode for laying optical fibre in all villages to enable access to affordable broadband and mobile service especially since 5G mobile services shall be rolled out. 

Amendments to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code to enhance the efficacy of the resolution process and introducing a new legislation to replace the Special Economic Zones Act in to ensure optimal usage of available infrastructure and competitiveness is of the exports are a few suggested legislative reforms. 

Allocation of 19,500 crore in the Solar sector, introducing four pilot projects for coal gasification and conversion of coal into required chemicals, transition to circular economy and carbon neutral economy are steps in the direction of combating climate change.

Financing of Investments

Promotion of green infrastructure through issue of sovereign Green Bonds, setting up of International Arbitration Centre in the GIFT City, inclusion of 107 Data Centres and Energy Storage Systems within the umbrella of Infrastructure, promotion of thematic funds for blended finance with 20% Government share are a few measures introduced by the Budget to embolden its objective of financing of investments. The financial viability of the Infrastructure projects has by adopting global best practices, innovative ways of financing, and balanced risk allocation has been proposed.

CapEx Coupled with Infrastructure Spearheads Budget 2022

The Budget ensures capacity building for Infrastructure projects. It aims to provide seamless connectivity, logistics synergy and convenience for the commuters along with reducing congestion and promoting tourism. The Budget promotes innovative ways of financing, reduces logistics cost and time and aims to improve international competitiveness.

Along with its proposed reforms and allocation of funds, it can be said that the Infrastructure coupled with capital expenditure will be spearheading the Budget. We hope to see contracts awarded to EPC Contractors and PPP Projects for rail development. Expansion of expressway through EPC/PPP model will undoubtably usher concession to private players and EPC Contractors. Overall, the Infrastructure development through PPP mode has been propagated by the Budget right from village infrastructure, urban planning, projects in the Northeast region to Solar projects and green infrastructure projects.

Moreover, reforms in legislation and policies such as the procurement policy is a stride towards economic development and building the nation. Finally the Budget also provides for issuance of Surety Bond to the Developers/Contractors in the place of Performance Bank Guarantee (PBG) which will ease the financial burden of the Concessionaire/Developer/Contractors in obtaining the said PBG from the Banks by depositing of 100% Margin Money.

Image Credits: Photo by Ivan Bandura on Unsplash

Building on the Budget of 2021-2022, this Budget of 2022-2023 acknowledges strengthening of health infrastructure, Productivity Linked Incentive for achieving the vision of AtmaNirbhar Bharat, commencement of activities of the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) and National Asset Reconstruction Company and continues to provide a blueprint for India@100 along with a multi-modal approach guided by PM GatiShakti.

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Public Procurement Reforms: Light at the End of the Tunnel

The imperatives of a growing and liberalized economy impel objectivity and transparency in the decision-making process. A substantial amount is spent by the Government in procuring several goods and services in order to discharge the duties and responsibilities of the assigned work. This drives the need for uniform, systematic, efficient, and cost-effective solutions in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations. The need of the hour propelled the release of guidelines for reforms in public procurement and project management, General Instructions on Procurement and Project Management, by the Ministry of Finance (hereinafter referred to as the “Procurement Guidelines”). 

Incorporating innovative rules to facilitate faster, efficient, and transparent execution of projects remains the predominant objective of the Procurement Guidelines. The Procurement Guidelines attempt to empower executing agencies to make prompt and efficient decisions in accordance with public interest, probity, and fairness. Since the challenge lies in executing the projects within the stipulated time and cost without compromising on the quality, the role of these Procurement Guidelines is paramount

 

Overview of the Procurement and Project Management Guidelines

 

The Procurement Guidelines stipulate a presentation of the findings of the project feasibility study or the preliminary project report to the designated competent authority to provide an assessment of the overall situation and risk mitigation methods. These discussions may also become a part of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) wherein the field units of the public authority shall be a part of the DPR preparation process. The involvement of field units of the public authority is essential in the endeavour for appropriate solutions since these field units are custodians of legacy data of a particular geographical region.

The Procurement Guidelines provide that the availability of minimum necessary encumbrance free land should be ensured before awarding the contract. Ascertaining the same will be done on a case-to-case basis or based on the general guidelines issued by the concerned authority. The Procurement Guidelines prescribe expedition of the process for obtaining statutory and other clearances and monitoring of the progress in obtaining clearances by the public authority. Avoidance of delay in execution of work and deviation in quantities of items of work is prevented by ensuring the availability of approved architectural and structural drawings prior to the invitation of tenders. A pre-notice inviting tender conference is proposed to obtain industry inputs. The empanelment of contractors in a fair, equitable and online manner for specific goods and services that are required regularly is also prescribed.

Several reforms have been set forth in the tender document which is salient in governing the relationship between the parties. The need for clarity in clauses that do not give scope for multiple interpretations has been proposed with emphasis on provisions pertaining to milestones, approvals, price variation, quality assurance plan, technical eligibility, and financial eligibility criteria. The contractors shall receive payment at every stage in proportion to the quantum of work done. The Procurement Guidelines have initiated payment of interest in case of delayed payments of bills submitted by the contractor backed by an online system for monitoring to identify and avoid unwarranted delays. Moreover, the efficiency of procurement is enhanced by making online tendering a default method for bidding projects.

Technology backed solutions have been proposed for periodic review of the projects. Use of project management systems for recording delays on a real-time basis, capturing the progress, quality of work, site records and photographs including geotagging have been proposed. The need to clearly define the role of Project Management in the contract has been stressed upon.

In cases of a single bid in the tender, certain conditions have been stipulated to prevent the cost of rebidding and banish the notion of rebidding being a safe course of action since rebidding leads to further costs and delays. As far as the procurement was advertised with sufficient time to submit the bids, qualification criteria were not unduly restrictive and reasonable prices in comparison to market values have been quoted, single bids are considered valid.

A graded authority structure has been proposed to grant an extension of time. Framing of methods such as single or limited tenders for part completed contracts wherein 20% of the work has been billed by the contractor who has abandoned the project has been introduced. This will reduce the inconveniences, loss of amenities, time and cost due to half-completed work. The Procurement Guidelines mandate EPC contracts to mention broad technical specifications with the freedom to the contractor to optimize the design. The incorporation of conditions in the tender documents for procurement of consultancy services and fixed budget-based selection has also been presented.

Quality cum Cost Based Selection (QCBS) for procurement of works and non-consultancy services where the value of procurement does not exceed Rs. 10 crores and has been declared as a Quality Oriented Procurement, is set forth as an alternative method of procurement. In the case of QCBS, the maximum weightage given to non-financial parameters should not exceed 30%. Weightage for timely completion of similar projects in the past may also be considered in the tender documents along with fulfilment of mandatory criteria for evaluation of bid and joint ventures may be allowed subject to adequate safeguards.

Acknowledging the adverse implications of litigation on timelines and overall project cost in form of heavy damages or additional interest cost, the Procurement Guidelines demand a critical review of the award by a special board or committee. This board or committee should consider legal merits, probability of success, costs and must be satisfied that an appeal is likely to be more beneficial. An appeal should be recommended only upon application of mind on the facts and circumstances of the case and analyzing the chances of success. The Procurement Guidelines stipulate compliance to Rule 227A of the General Financial Rules, 2017 (GFRs) according to which the Department/Ministry that has challenged the arbitral award has to pay 75% of the arbitral award including interest to the contractor or concessionaire against a bank guarantee. The payment should be made into the designated escrow account. Personal accountability shall arise in case of non-compliance to Rule 227A of GFRs to the extent of additional interest in the event the final court order is not in favour of the procuring entity.

 

A Step in the Right Direction

Transparency should trickle down into public procurement in order to facilitate competition, fairness and elimination of arbitrariness in the system. The Procurement Guidelines stipulate several appreciative reforms. The release of payment to the contractor in commensuration of the completed work will provide liquidity to the cash-strapped contractors. Review of work at various stages of contracts leads to an assessment of delay in execution of work by the concerned stakeholder and serves as a record in case of a dispute. Right of way for projects remains a major concern since minimum necessary encumbrance free land shall be determined on a case-to-case basis or general guidelines which may lead to further delays owing to peculiarities or absence of guidelines. Despite conditions being laid down to deal with situations of a single bid, the same may not promote a competitive bid. Alternative solutions such as the Swiss Challenge method may be used in order to prevent monopoly. It is pertinent to note that the L1 approach as the chief criterion to award the project has been eliminated thereby emphasizing the quality of work. While releasing 75% of the award for projects stuck in disputes is a welcome step, a proper mechanism to realize the advantages of the same must be established without which the contractor would be burdened with poorly negotiated bank guarantees and be required to open an escrow account in case of EPC projects. Nevertheless, a robust system instils confidence in the prospective tenderers to formulate competitive tenders. Undoubtedly, the concentrated efforts are a step in the direction of economic development, removal of unwarranted roadblocks and addressing the plaguing problems in public projects.P

Image Credits: Photo by Ivan Bandura on Unsplash

Transparency should trickle down into public procurement in order to facilitate competition, fairness and elimination of arbitrariness in the system. The Guidelines stipulate several appreciative reforms. The release of payment to the contractor in commensuration of the completed work will provide liquidity to the cash-strapped contractors. Review of work at various stages of contracts leads to an assessment of delay in execution of work by the concerned stakeholder and serves as a record in case of dispute.

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