The Union Budget 2024-25 has largely signaled continuity in direction. The infrastructure budget was reaffirmed at Rs.11.11 trillion, which is 3.4 per cent of GDP. Additionally, Rs.1.5 trillion has been provided for states as resource assistance. The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana Phase IV will provide connectivity to 25,000 rural habitations. PM Awas Yojana (Urban) has been allocated Rs.10 trillion to provide housing for 10 million families. However, provisions are being made for 30 million houses in the urban and rural schemes. Shedding the Smart Cities Mission, the government has recognized the need for urban development and has planned transit-oriented development for 14 cities with populations above 3 million. Water supply, sewage treatment, and solid waste management projects will be undertaken through multilateral funding agencies for 100 large cities by planning bankable projects. This would require municipal corporations to structure projects that are sustainable. Given that corporations spend most of their budgets on salaries and given the short tenures of the commissioners, projects remain dormant for several years. Unless the Municipal Act is refreshed, expectations of bankability will be a pipe dream.The Finance Minister stated that the reduction in stamp duty on property would be encouraged. City administrators must focus on improving their property tax collections and lowering stamp duty. With the Long-Term Capital Gain rate of taxation having been reduced to 12.5 per cent from 20 per cent, there is a huge incentive to cash out property gains, and with a lower stamp duty, buyers would be encouraged, which will result in a higher volume of property transactions. I believe this will lead to speculation in the property market, which is undesirable. Emphasis has been laid on the digitization of land records in urban areas with GIS mapping. GIS mapping can also help corporations compute the exact amount of property taxes that ought to be received by them. The non-availability of digital land records also leads to land acquisition delays, affecting infrastructure development.The Government has started focusing on the development of access-controlled National Highways and making them a minimum of two lanes with paved shoulder standards. But 2024-25 will be a bumper year for Railways. Not only has the budget allocated Rs.2.4 trillion, the highest ever amount for this sector, but three corridors (1) High-traffic density corridors, (2) Energy, Mineral and Cement Corridors, and (3) Rail Sagar (port connectivity) corridors are also planned to reduce logistics costs and carbon footprint. The expected requirement for the installation of renewable capacity by 2029-30 for railways is around 30 GW, so expect a huge scaling up of solar installations too. The construction of the Eastern Freight Corridor has been completed by February 2024 and is fully operational, whereas the Western Freight Corridor has 85 per cent operational status. Overall, 90 per cent of the network is operational, and 300 trains run on the lines every day. With Dedicated Freight Corridors nearing completion, 12 industrial corridors are being planned. Bihar and Andhra Pradesh have been included in the infrastructure roll-out as the states’ ruling parties are coalition partners with the NDA. Andhra Pradesh has received a total commitment of Rs.500 billion, while Bihar has received `260 billion worth of commitments. Several rail, logistics, agriculture, and port projects have been provided funds, and these two states will see an acceleration in infrastructure development. The employment schemes announced are not well designed as they will lead to administrative difficulties, and a wiser move would have been to provide tax breaks for incentivising skilling and training for corporates. This would automatically set the ball rolling for their employability, as the skilled manpower shortage is a real problem.Overall, the budget pushes forward with continuity and a focus on infrastructure development while maintaining fiscal discipline. The states ought to pick up the mantle and drive development before they run into financial distress. On 30th August we have the 4th Annual Construction Technology Summit where we will discuss Geospatial, 3-D Printing, BIM, Prefab, Digital twin and various other technologies while in the evening we will felicitate India’s Top Architects & Builders at the 19th Construction World Architect & Builder Awards. Get set!