Regulating Infrastructure Development in India

This paper reviews the existing framework for infrastructure development and the associated standards in India, and identifies areas for concern. Rather than deeply analysing any one standard, this paper analyses the ecosystem for standard setting in India’s infrastructure development from a risk perspective. India has been rapidly urbanising. Much of this has been unplanned, with regulation left to catch up to what has already been implemented. This leaves room for improving the legal framework in terms of what role is played by each level of government, as well as the process for setting standards for each type of infrastructure. Regulation of the professionals involved (including town planners and engineers) is missing, resulting in implementation issues. Further, this regulatory framework is still evolving in India. There are systemic issues to consider, such as the level of prescription a standard should have, identifying critical infrastructure, and whether to retro¬t existing infrastructure.