Poor infrastructure is India’s Achilles heel. But it is also the area that is receiving the most attention from policy-makers and one that offers significant opportunities to private investors, both domestic and foreign. Failure to get infrastructure right, whether it is new ports, rural roads, power plants or mass transit systems, will cost the Congress-led coalition almost any hope of fulfilling its other goals.

Any visitor to India familiar with Asia is immediately struck by how far the country’s infrastructure lags not just China but the entire region. Except for telecoms, most infrastructure services in India are between 50 and 100 per cent more expensive than in China. Electricity costs Indian manufacturers twice as much as their Chinese rivals and railway transport three times as much, according to Morgan Stanley research.