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HCS (Haryana)Stage 2: Main Written Examination
Infrastructure and Investment Models
What the official syllabus says
General Studies III (Main Written Examination, Paper V):
- Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
- Investment models.
Topics in detail
Infrastructure: concepts
- Physical and social infrastructure; infrastructure as a driver of growth
- National Infrastructure Pipeline (2019), National Monetisation Pipeline (2021)
- PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan (2021) and the National Logistics Policy (2022)
Energy
- Energy mix: coal, oil and gas, hydro, nuclear, solar, wind, biomass
- Target of 500 GW non-fossil electricity capacity by 2030
- National Solar Mission (2010), rooftop solar, solar parks
- Green hydrogen mission (2023); biofuels and ethanol blending
- Power distribution: losses of discoms, UDAY (2015), smart meters, open access
- Nuclear power: India's three-stage programme
- Energy security: oil imports and strategic petroleum reserves
Ports and waterways
- Major and non-major ports; Major Port Authorities Act, 2021
- Sagarmala Programme (2015): port modernisation and port-led development
- National waterways and coastal shipping
Roads
- National highways, State highways and rural roads
- Bharatmala Pariyojana (2017); expressways and economic corridors
- Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (2000)
- National Highways Authority of India; electronic toll collection (FASTag)
- Road safety
Airports
- Airports Authority of India; private operation of airports
- Regional connectivity scheme UDAN (2016)
- Air cargo and maintenance, repair and overhaul
Railways
- Dedicated freight corridors (Eastern and Western)
- High-speed rail; semi-high-speed trains; station redevelopment
- Metro rail and regional rapid transit systems
- Railway finances and freight-passenger cross-subsidy
Other infrastructure
- Urban infrastructure: Smart Cities Mission, AMRUT
- Telecom and digital infrastructure: BharatNet, 5G
- Water supply and sanitation
Investment models
- Public investment, private investment and public-private partnership (PPP)
- PPP models: build-operate-transfer (BOT toll and BOT annuity), build-own-operate, build-own-operate-transfer, design-build-finance-operate-transfer
- Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts
- Hybrid Annuity Model (2016) in highways
- Toll-operate-transfer and asset monetisation
- Viability Gap Funding; Swiss challenge method
- Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)
- National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (2015); National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (2021)
- Committee on revisiting and revitalising PPP (2015): risk sharing, renegotiation
- Issues: stalled projects, land acquisition, twin balance sheet problem
Main road-sector models compared
| Model | Who finances construction | Who bears traffic risk | How the builder is paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| EPC | Government | Government | Contract payments during construction |
| BOT (toll) | Private partner | Private partner | Tolls during the concession |
| BOT (annuity) | Private partner | Government | Fixed annuities from the government |
| Hybrid Annuity Model | Shared: 40% government, 60% private | Government | 40% during construction, the rest as annuities with interest |
| Toll-Operate-Transfer | Already built by government; private partner pays an upfront sum | Private partner | Tolls during the concession |
Overlaps
- General Studies I: factors responsible for the location of industries.
- Haryana: Economy, Industry and Infrastructure: power plants, expressways, metro and airports in Haryana.