OPINION | From Infrastructure Scale to Reliability: Budget 2026’s real test

Infrastructure investment also carries a strong macroeconomic multiplier.

India has built infrastructure scale at an unprecedented pace, but the next challenge is far more demanding: ensuring that this infrastructure delivers reliably, everywhere, every day. Over the past decade, sustained public investment and policy continuity have reshaped the country’s infrastructure landscape. Renewable energy, power systems, water access, and urban infrastructure have all seen meaningful progress. As the Union Budget 2026 approaches, the opportunity now lies in converting scale into reliability, and ambition into assurance.

The renewable energy sector best illustrates this transition. India’s installed renewable energy capacity has crossed 250 gigawatts, placing the country firmly among the world’s leading clean energy markets. Solar power has emerged as the principal growth driver, accounting for a significant share of recent capacity additions and reinforcing India’s position as a global solar leader. Renewable sources today contribute close to half of India’s total installed power capacity, reflecting the success of long-term policy clarity and growing private sector participation.

As this scale has been achieved, the focus must now move beyond capacity creation. The more pressing challenge lies in ensuring that renewable power generated is evacuated efficiently, transmitted reliably, and integrated seamlessly into the national grid. Without adequate supporting infrastructure, even large capacity additions risk underutilisation due to grid congestion and evacuation constraints. This is where system-level readiness becomes critical.

Transmission and evacuation infrastructure sit at the core of India’s clean energy ambitions. Estimates from policy and industry bodies suggest that supporting India’s renewable targets will require transmission investments running into several lakh crore rupees over the next decade. High-capacity substations, inter-state transmission systems, and grid-strengthening initiatives are no longer peripheral enablers. They are foundational assets for energy security, industrial competitiveness, and long-term resilience. Budget 2026 has an opportunity to reinforce this backbone by prioritising allocations for transmission and distribution, particularly in renewable-rich states and emerging industrial clusters.

One constructive way to accelerate this build-out is by expanding the role of the Private Developer Model in transmission and substation projects. Greater participation by private developers can help unlock capital, improve execution timelines, and enable faster creation of evacuation assets, especially in renewable-rich regions. By complementing existing public-sector efforts with private-sector agility, India can significantly shorten project cycles while maintaining high standards of reliability and accountability. Budget 2026 has an opportunity to encourage this balanced approach, ensuring that evacuation infrastructure keeps pace with renewable capacity additions.

From the vantage point of executing infrastructure projects across regions, the difference between policy intent and on-ground impact often comes down to timelines and coordination. In practice, the gap between a project completed in 18 months and one that stretches to 24 months is frequently shaped by approval cycles, payment predictability, and inter-agency alignment. India does not lack vision documents, long-term targets, or announced projects. What determines outcomes is delivery discipline, consistency, and quality on the ground.

The importance of power infrastructure extends well beyond renewable integration. India’s electricity demand continues to rise steadily, driven by urbanisation, industrial expansion, and rapid digital adoption. Peak power demand has already crossed the 230 to 250 gigawatt range in recent years and is expected to grow further. Strengthening transmission and distribution networks, particularly in high-growth industrial corridors and urban clusters, will be essential to ensure that power availability does not become a constraint on economic momentum.

Water infrastructure represents another area where policy support focused on implementation can deliver durable outcomes. Significant progress has been made in expanding access to potable water, with more than 80 percent of rural households now reported to have functional tap water connections. The next phase must focus on reliability, efficiency, and long-term sustainability. Investments in water treatment plants, distribution networks, and automation systems can reduce losses, improve service quality, and ensure consistent supply. Budgetary support that prioritises timely completion and system performance will directly enhance public health and quality of life.

Infrastructure investment also carries a strong macroeconomic multiplier. Multiple economic assessments indicate that every rupee spent on infrastructure generates between two and three rupees of economic output over time. Capital expenditure creates employment during construction, enhances productivity after project completion, and stimulates demand across allied sectors such as cement, steel, logistics, and manufacturing. Maintaining a strong capital expenditure orientation in Budget 2026 will therefore yield benefits that extend well beyond individual projects.

An important opportunity going forward lies in aligning renewable energy expansion with industrial and urban development. As India advances towards cleaner manufacturing, data centres, and technology-driven growth, dependable power supply becomes non-negotiable. Renewable energy supported by robust evacuation and grid infrastructure can serve as a competitive advantage for industrial corridors and urban centres alike. Integrated planning across energy, industry, and urban infrastructure can maximise both economic and environmental returns.

At the heart of this discussion lies the citizen. Infrastructure ultimately shapes everyday life, whether through uninterrupted power, access to clean water, or resilient urban systems. When projects are delivered efficiently and brought into operation on time, their benefits are felt immediately and widely. Delays and inefficiencies, on the other hand, dilute the impact of even the most well-intentioned policies.

India has demonstrated that it can build infrastructure at scale. Budget 2026 now has the opportunity to ensure that this infrastructure works seamlessly, consistently, and with lasting impact. In doing so, execution becomes not just an outcome, but a national advantage.

(Rakesh Markhedkar, Chairman and Managing Director, Vikran Engineering Limited.)

Views are personal, and do not represent the stance of this publication.