Infrastructure and Sectoral updates - Newspaper Summary

 The sources indicate that in October 2025, India is balancing a massive domestic push in infrastructure and sectoral modernization—especially in energy, mobility, and technology—against severe external headwinds, including global tariff wars and the accelerating impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

I. Physical Infrastructure and Energy Sector Transformation

India's physical infrastructure development and energy security initiatives are characterized by significant government spending and strategic foreign investment.

Railways and Urban Mobility

The government is prioritizing multi-tracking projects to boost efficiency and connectivity:

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved four significant multi-tracking projects for the Ministry of Railways, estimated to cost ₹24,634 crore.
• These projects are set to expand the Indian Railways' network by approximately 894km.
• The initiatives cover 18 districts across Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Chhattisgarh and align with the PM-Gati Shakti National Master Plan.
• In urban transit, the Centre is planning to tender around 3,000 electric buses for Mumbai and Pune under the PM E-Drive scheme. This scheme offers a subsidy of at least ₹25 lakh per e-bus. Mumbai and Pune became eligible for the second tender tranche after the Maharashtra government completed a Direct Debit Mandate (DDM) with the RBI.

Energy Security and Foreign Investment

Given that India imports 85% of its energy, domestic production enhancement is crucial for energy security in volatile times.

• Global energy giant BP Plc plans to invest $3–4 billion in India’s oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) over the next three to four years, partnering with entities like Reliance Industries and ONGC.
• BP is supporting ONGC in enhancing production at the Mumbai High field, aiming for a 60% uplift. The current production of Mumbai High is 134,000 barrels per day (bpd), accounting for 35% of India’s domestic oil production.
• BP is also investing $\mathbf{$1 \text{ billion}}$ in E&P activities in the Krishna Godavari (KG) Basin in partnership with Reliance. The KG D6 Block currently produces one third of India's natural gas.
• In a geopolitical context, traders of discounted Russian oil have begun asking Indian state refiners, including Indian Oil Corp., to pay in Chinese Yuan. This shift simplifies deals and allows Russia to sidestep Western sanctions, accelerating the use of alternative currencies like the Yuan.

Power Transmission and Green Energy Targets

While global renewable forecasts have been trimmed due to policy headwinds in the US and China, India is on track to achieve its climate targets for 2030 and is poised to become the second-largest growth market for renewables after China.

• The power Transmission and Distribution (T&D) sector is seeing robust activity, driven by renewable energy capacity addition.
• $\mathbf{GE Vernova}$ T&D India is anticipating substantial order inflows, estimating a domestic "market opportunity" of $\mathbf{\text{₹2.7 trillion}}$ over FY25–30.
• The company expects large-scale orders, including two High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) orders (Khavda-South Olpad and Barmer-South Kalamb) to be finalized this fiscal year. GE Vernova is also seeing robust global opportunities, with its parent entity approving $\mathbf{\text{₹3,000 crore}}$ in outsourcing orders to the Indian entity in FY26.

II. Sectoral Performance, Consumer Demand, and Regulatory Shifts

Automotive Sector Resilience and Green Mandates

The automotive sector shows strong resilience driven by festive demand, despite looming regulatory deadlines:

• Passenger vehicle retail sales shot up 35% year-on-year during the nine-day Navratri period, following muted sales in the first 21 days of September due to consumers postponing purchases ahead of GST rate cuts.
• Carmakers are actively preparing to comply with the stricter CAFE 3 norms, which mandate gradually cutting average fuel consumption.
• $\mathbf{Maruti Suzuki}$ and $\mathbf{Mahindra}$ are planning to increase the share of electric vehicles (EVs) to nearly a fifth of their sales in the coming years.
• $\mathbf{Tata Motors}$ is comparatively better placed, with clean fuel cars (CNG and EV) already accounting for one third of its sales last fiscal.

Information Technology and the AI/Global Policy Challenge

The Indian IT sector faces a dual challenge of managing global economic uncertainty and adapting to the AI paradigm shift.

• Outperformance of Mid-Caps: Mid-sized IT services firms (those with revenues between $1 billion and $5 billion) are expected to outperform their larger peers for the third consecutive quarter, demonstrating sequential revenue growth between 1.2% and 6.6%.
• Mid-caps are securing major contracts, such as $\mathbf{LTIMindtree’s}$ $\mathbf{$580 \text{ million}}$ contract with Paramount Global and $\mathbf{Coforge’s}$ $\mathbf{$1.56 \text{ billion}}$ deal with Sabre Corp..
• External Policy Headwinds: The sector is disproportionately exposed to US policy changes, including the potential $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications and the proposed HIRE Act, which aims to impose a 25% tax on payments made to foreign entities for services. These risks are contributing to broader caution in the Indian job market, resulting in the lowest average pay hike (8.9%) in almost 15 years (excluding 2020).

Consumer Goods, Retail, and Gold

Consumer trends reflect volatility followed by strong festive recovery:

• FMCG Impact: $\mathbf{Dabur India}$ reported a short-term moderation in Q2 sales as consumers deferred purchases anticipating the GST rate cuts (which took effect September 22nd). However, it expects revenue growth to "regain momentum".
• Retail/E-commerce: $\mathbf{Nykaa’s}$ fashion business is showing signs of revival, with net sales value growth in the "higher mid-20s" for Q2, its best performance in over a year, potentially buoyed by early festive demand and GST cuts.
• Gold Demand: Global uncertainty, fueled by geopolitical conflicts and weakness in the US dollar, is driving safe-haven demand for gold. Benchmark gold prices on the MCX hit a record ₹121,000 per 10 gm. Industry experts expect this festive season to set a new record in sales, estimating 45 tonnes of gold to be sold this Diwali, driven by the fear of missing out (FOMO).

Financial Sector and Governance

Regulatory actions are impacting the Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) and Fintech space:

• Fintech Lending Slowdown: Fintech lending growth has cooled following the RBI’s clampdown on unsecured lending, but severe stress remains elevated. Loans that are 180 days past due (DPD) climbed to 8.6% in June 2025.
• Fintechs are pivoting towards secured business credit, fixed deposit-backed credit cards, and gold loans to mitigate risk.
• Corporate Governance: The sources note the $\mathbf{Tata Sons}$ situation, which missed the September 30th RBI deadline to go public (as a Non-Banking Finance Company). An RBI official's comment left the matter open to interpretation, stating any registered entity would continue to operate until its registration is cancelled.

III. Advancing Financial Technology Infrastructure

India is strengthening its financial architecture to enhance global positioning:

• GIFT City as Global Hub: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched the foreign currency settlement system at GIFT City, a major step toward enhancing India’s standing as a global financial hub. This system enables the real-time settlement of foreign currency transactions within the IFSC, eliminating the typical 36-48 hour delays associated with traditional correspondent banking.
• Digital Payment Innovation (UPI/CBDC): The government is rolling out advanced authentication for the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), including fingerprint and facial authentication, initially capped at ₹5,000 per transaction, to simplify payments and strengthen verification.
• The RBI is focusing its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) efforts on developing new use cases like programmable currency and cross-border transactions, waiting for other nations to launch similar projects to ensure interoperability.