The infrastructure development is one of the major pillars of the work on changing the slow-moving economy into the dynamic, modern, and competitive system on the global level. Physically, infrastructure in third world countries like India is not just an asset but a strategic facilitator of productivity, investment flows and trade integration and development of human beings. Although the rate of economic growth in the last 20 years is impressive, India continues to be ranked 70 th among 140 states in the Global Competitiveness Index with respect to infrastructure quality meaning that there is still a long way to go. According to the recent national estimates, achieving the dream of having a USD 5 trillion economy by the year 2030 will require an unimaginable investment of about USD 4.51 trillion in infrastructure-based assets and systems. As part of these requirements, the Government of India has declared a bold budgetary allocation of 100 lakh crore to be implemented in the coming five years in over 6500 infrastructural projects. These investments are a diverse range; they include social, commercial infrastructure, digital and communication infrastructure, national and state transport corridors, renewable and conventional energy infrastructure, water and sanitation infrastructure. The National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP), PM Gati Shakti, Bharatmala, Sagarmala, Smart Cities Mission and Digital India are indicators of a comprehensive and long-term outlook of modernizing the infrastructural environment in the country. On the whole, these programmes aim at minimizing logistical bottlenecks, improving connectivity, promoting private investment and achieving balanced regional development. Considering the very scale of financial demands, the PPP1 model has become an inevitable tool of mobilising the Indian infrastructure-related sphere of the private capital, professional skills and technological advancement. PPPs are crucial towards closing the funding gap, risk-sharing in a more efficient manner and delivering complex infrastructure projects in stiffer time frames. Nonetheless, the PPP model in India has not been without its own fair share of challenges such as regulatory ambiguity, the lack of institutional ability, uneven distribution of risks, financial limitations and lack of speed in conflict settlement. Such concerns have triggered policymakers to re-analyse and enhance PPP architecture to build greater institutional trust and invite long term participation of the private. In this paper, therefore, a critical analysis of the PPP model in India is being conducted in terms of its relevance, weaknesses in its operations, and possible area of improvement. It has been structured into six sections: the importance of infrastructure in economic development; the presentation of the PPP model; the review of scholarly literature; the statement of the research problem and guiding questions; the analysis of major issues and their solutions in practice; and, lastly, the conclusion and recommendations regarding further research. The research will be used to enhance the knowledge on the infrastructural imperatives in India and how the role of PPPs to assist India has changed through this analytical framework. 1 Public-Private Partnership (PPP) refers to a long-term cooperative arrangement between a government entity and a private sector organisation for delivering public infrastructure or services, in which the private partner assumes significant financial, managerial and operational responsibility.
Rani et al. (Sun,) studied this question.