Infra Spend Tops ₹12 Lakh Crore as PM Opens Delhi–Dehradun Corridor

India’s infrastructure push received a fresh political and economic spotlight after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said annual spending on infrastructure has risen from less than ₹2 lakh crore before 2014 to more than ₹12 lakh crore now. He made the remark on April 14, 2026, while inaugurating the Delhi–Dehradun Economic Corridor in Dehradun, with IBEF describing that level of annual spending as roughly US$128.56 billion. Modi also said infrastructure projects worth more than ₹2.25 lakh crore are currently under way in Uttarakhand alone.

The broader budget data supports the scale of that expansion. The Union Budget’s Budget at a Glance for 2026–27 pegs total capital expenditure at ₹12,21,821 crore, up from a revised estimate of ₹10,95,755 crore in 2025–26. Separately, the Economic Survey 2025–26 noted that the Centre’s capital outlay had already risen from ₹5.92 lakh crore in FY22 to a budgeted ₹11.21 lakh crore for FY26, and argued that infrastructure spending carries a medium-term multiplier of roughly 2.5 to 3.5 times GDP.

The immediate backdrop to the announcement was the opening of the 210-km Delhi–Dehradun corridor, a project the Prime Minister’s Office said will deepen connectivity, lower travel costs and give a new growth impulse to Uttarakhand and the wider Delhi–western Uttar Pradesh belt. Official project details say the corridor will reduce the Delhi–Dehradun journey from about 6.5 hours to 2.5 hours, is designed for speeds of at least 100 kmph, and includes a 12-km elevated wildlife corridor built to reduce ecological disruption. Modi said around ₹12,000 crore has already been invested in the project, which he described as a driver of jobs, freight efficiency and faster market access for local producers.

The corridor also fits into a much larger transport build-out that has accelerated over the past decade. A PIB explainer on transport infrastructure said India’s national highway network expanded from 91,287 km in 2013–14 to 1,46,204 km by March 31, 2025, while the pace of highway construction rose from 11.6 km per day to about 34 km per day. The same explainer said India’s ranking in the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index improved from 54 in 2014 to 38 in 2023, reflecting gains in both hard infrastructure and supply-chain digitisation.

Taken together, the message from the latest project launch and the budget numbers is clear: New Delhi is continuing to lean on public capital expenditure as a central growth strategy, using expressways, rail, airports, logistics corridors and digital infrastructure to cut transaction costs and strengthen competitiveness. For businesses, that means infrastructure is no longer just a public-works story; it is increasingly becoming a core part of India’s industrial, trade and investment narrative.

Sources:
https://www.ibef.org/news/infrastructure-spending-has-risen-sixfold-since-2014-to-us-128-56-billion-says-prime-minister-mr-narendra-modi
https://www.pmindia.gov.in/en/news_updates/pm-inaugurates-delhi-dehradun-economic-corridor/
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2251855
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2251861&lang=1&reg=1
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1697186
https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/doc/Budget_at_Glance/budget_at_a_glance.pdf
https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/economicsurvey/doc/eschapter/echap09.pdf
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressNoteDetails.aspx?ModuleId=3&NoteId=154624

:
https://www.ibef.org/news/infrastructure-spending-has-risen-sixfold-since-2014-to-us-128-56-billion-says-prime-minister-mr-narendra-modi
https://www.pmindia.gov.in/en/news_updates/pm-inaugurates-delhi-dehradun-economic-corridor/
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2251855
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2251861&lang=1&reg=1
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1697186
https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/doc/Budget_at_Glance/budget_at_a_glance.pdf
https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/economicsurvey/doc/eschapter/echap09.pdf
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressNoteDetails.aspx?ModuleId=3&NoteId=154624