INFORM: Infrastructure, Projects & Finance – May 2025

In our latest edition, we have shared the trends shaping the infrastructure landscape, key developments in projects, and finance, with certain case laws highlighting the judicial perspective.

Case laws:

• Public Interest Prevails Over Commercial Inconvenience: J&K High Court Upholds Design Flexibility in NH-144A Flyover Project
• Public Interest Justifies Geographic Limitations in Tenders
• Supreme Court Issues Stay Order in NH-44 Toll Reduction Order by Jammu & Kashmir High Court
• Blacklisting Unsustainable Absent Egregious Conduct or Final Determination of Dispute
• Pre-Deposit Not Always Mandatory: Apex Court Calls for Purposive Interpretation of Section 18 of the SARFEASI Act

Notifications/circulars:

• NHAI Modifies Highway Projects Takeover Protocols
• NHAI Publishes Timeline to Streamlines Land Acquisition Activities
• Bridging Safety and Accountability: NHAI’s New Condition Rating System for Infrastructure Assets
• Streamlining WSA Development: NHAI’s New Methodology for De-scoping and Cost Assessment
• Clarifying the Road Ahead: No Satellite-Based Tolling, FASTag Continues
• FEMA Directions Amended to Enable Compounding of Select Contraventions

Quick Reads:

• NaBFID Offers First-Ever Short-Term Bond Issue
• Revamping Railway Infrastructure: India’s New PPP Policy Aims to Attract Private Investment
• Major Toll Relief on the Horizon: New Proposals Under Government Review
• Revamping the Insolvency Landscape: IBC 2.0 Signals a Paradigm Shift
• Addressing Challenges in Highway Infrastructure: Parliamentary Panel’s Key Recommendations