Corruption, regulatory bottlenecks and other hurdles have slowed down the pace of infrastructure development in India. Having just released their current budget, however, lawmakers in India are making a strong effort to reach out to investors to help jump-start construction activity.

India is "recognizing that communication with investors should be improved to remove any apprehension or distrust, including fears about undue regulatory burden," says P. Chidambaram, India's finance minister, who introduced the country's latest fiscal-year budget on Feb 28.