New Delhi, July 25 -- India has been building public infrastructure at breakneck speed. Over the past few years, the budget allocation for capital expenditure has consistently exceeded Rs.10 trillion. The budget allocation for 2025-26 stands at Rs.1.12 trillion, or over 3% of the gross domestic product (GDP).

A 2023 analysis by credit rating agency Crisil projected that India's infrastructure spending would hit Rs.143 trillion cumulative over the seven years between 2023-24 and 2029-30, more than double the sum spent during the preceding seven years.

If one could simply spend one way to have world-class infrastructure, Mumbai, to quote India's former prime minister, late Dr Manmohan Singh, will become Shanghai. Unfortunately, there is a...