Construction and infrastructure: Chokepoints and risks

Contractors building roads, rail, ports, power and water networks and buildings

Land acquisition, environmental clearances and approvals are the main cause of delay and cost overrun in Indian projects.
India's construction programme leans on central capex of Rs 11.2 trillion in 2025-26 and Rs 12.2 trillion budgeted for 2026-27; any fiscal squeeze slows order flow²^,⁴.
Cement and steel are energy- and carbon-intensive, exposing projects to coal prices and to carbon border taxes on exported steel.
Contractor balance sheets are stretched by delayed payments and arbitration claims, so a few failures can strand projects.
Skilled labour and specialist equipment (tunnel-boring machines, heavy cranes) become bottlenecks in a building boom.