Failings of Indian infrastructure
extracts from the article:
"China has 3.75 million kilometers of highways, but India, though it has a slightly lower number of roads, has only 67,000 kilometers of highways. China has 854 gigawatts of installed power capacity; India just 150 gw. China adds 50 to 60 gw to power capacity each year; India just 8 to 10. China has 86,000 kilometers of railway track; India 63,000.
In steel capacity, China is way ahead of India, with 620 million metric tons per annum against 57 million metric tons. And in cement capacity, China's 1.2 billion metric tons outscores India's 270 million metric tons.
Bare numbers don't tell the whole story. Only 25 percent of India's highways are two- or four-lane, and almost 90 percent of highways are structurally inadequate to support truckloads of more than 10.2 tons.
All the evidence indicates that things in India will get worse in spite of the government's promises unless there are major changes in policy and in practice."
"In India, there is the democratic deficit. When you are elected, the spoils of power are at your disposal, and with the shining honorable exception of Prime Minister Singh, too many Indians have been too quick to seize the perks of power."
