Corrosion costs Indian economy Rs 14.15 lakh crore a year

India loses approximately Rs 14.15 lakh crore ($180 billion) annually to corrosion, equivalent to 4.3% of the country's GDP, according to a Nomura Research Institute report titled 'Built to Last'. The report says the loss exceeds the global average of 3.4% of GDP and that adopting global best practices in corrosion management could improve India's GDP by about 1.5%, saving nearly Rs 4.95 lakh crore ($63 billion) a year.

The power generation and transmission sector is the worst hit, with corrosion losses estimated at 10.1% of its sectoral GDP, Outlook Business reports. It is followed by telecommunications (3.8%), automobiles (3.0%) and railways (2.8%), IndianMandarins adds. Indian Railways alone loses about Rs 24,000 crore ($3 billion) annually. The report says infrastructure projects are implemented uniformly across India despite wide climatic variations, and that high humidity, coastline and industrial pollution accelerate deterioration.

The report recommends adopting lifecycle cost analysis for public projects instead of focusing only on upfront construction costs, strengthening BIS standards, and mandating stronger corrosion protection for steel-intensive sectors. It argues corrosion should be treated as an economic and policy issue, not just an engineering challenge. As India accelerates spending on roads, railways, housing and green energy under the Viksit Bharat vision, improving asset durability could significantly reduce long-term economic losses.