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Over the last decade, India’s infrastructure story has been one of scale. But as CRISIL’s estimates show, the next five years (2027–31) will demand around ₹145–155 lakh crore in infrastructure investment — almost 1.9x the previous five years.  

In this conversation, Suresh Goyal, DG, NCAER, sits down with Jagannarayan Padmanabhan, Senior Director and Global Head at CRISIL Intelligence, to ask: how do we use a systems-thinking approach to build and finance resilient infrastructure?  

They discuss:   

• Why the next decade must shift from “building infrastructure” to “building systems” — roads, rail, energy, and water need to be planned together  

• Lessons from tunnel boring machine shortages, energy security, and India’s limited flagged shipping fleet  

• Unlocking domestic capital: insurance, pensions, InvITs, and retail investors as the next wave of infrastructure financiers  

• The NHIT story: how investor participation grew from 27 to 600+ investors and AUM from ₹8,000 crore to ₹50,000 crore+  

About Parisila Perspectives  

Parisila Perspectives is NCAER’s podcast on macroeconomics and public policy. It features leading voices shaping India’s economy, governance and development landscape. 

India needs between ₹145 -155+ lakh crore in infrastructure investment over the next 5 years — nearly 2x what was spent in the last five. How are we building for resilience? 

In this episode of Parisila Perspectives, Suresh Goyal, DG, NCAER, sits down with Jagannarayan Padmanabhan, Senior Director and Global Head at CRISIL Intelligence, to explore why India’s next decade of infrastructure has to be about systems-thinking, resilience, and financing at scale.

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In this second part of this episode Suresh Goyal, Director General, NCAER, continues a conversation with Prof. Sonalde Desai, Centre Director, NCAER–National Data Innovation Centre, and Adil Zainulbhai, Former Chairman, McKinsey India and former Chairman, Capacity Building Commission of India, on how India can build a more responsive, evidence-led future by collecting and using trusted data.  

The discussion explores: 

• Why data should move beyond informing policy to enabling real-time action and better public service delivery
• How AI can democratise access to data, making evidence more accessible to policymakers, journalists and citizens
• The balance between data sharing, privacy and public trust in an increasingly connected digital ecosystem
• Why longitudinal household surveys reveal insights that high-frequency and administrative data alone cannot
• How poverty in India is becoming increasingly dynamic, requiring a rethink of social protection and safety nets
• The opportunities and limitations of alternative data sources—from UPI and FASTag to GSTN and satellite imagery—in economic and social policymaking
• Why strengthening statistical capacity, validating new data sources, and making research more accessible are essential for better governance 

From reimagining social safety nets to exploring how AI can make high-quality evidence more usable, this episode examines how India can harness data responsibly to improve policymaking, strengthen public institutions, and deliver better outcomes for citizens.