Gautam Adani Seeks New Credit Framework for Infrastructure
Gautam Adani Asks CareEdge to Rethink How India’s Big Infrastructure Projects Are Rated
Gautam Adani, chairman of the Adani Group, has asked CareEdge Group to create a new way of judging large infrastructure projects whose value may extend beyond the cash earned by a single asset.
Speaking at the CareEdge Group’s infrastructure event in Mumbai, Adani called for what he described as the world’s first comprehensive credit framework for “Integrated Platform Infrastructure”. He said such a system should consider the wider economic activity created by a project, as well as its links with other infrastructure.
His argument goes to the heart of a growing problem for lenders and credit-rating agencies. A port, power plant or data centre can be assessed through its own income, costs, debt and expected cash flow. But some large projects are built to support several businesses at the same time. In those cases, the financial value of the wider network may be harder to measure.
Adani said his relationship with CareEdge stretches back nearly two decades. He said the relationship now covers more than ₹3 lakh crore of rated assets across more than 100 entities.
He questioned whether rating systems designed to measure risk can also account for the opportunities created by new infrastructure.
Traditional infrastructure analysis, he said, was developed at a time when projects generally grew in smaller steps and demand was easier to estimate. Analysts could often examine one asset on its own and build a discounted cash-flow model around it.
Adani divided infrastructure into three broad groups. Replacement projects can usually be assessed using established methods. Growth projects need a wider look because they may create business around the original asset. He used the term “platform infrastructure” for projects where several parts work together and can create new demand and industrial activity.
Mundra in Gujarat was one of his main examples.
The port has developed into a wider transport and industrial network, with rail links, logistics facilities, power infrastructure and industrial activity around it. Adani Ports describes Mundra as a gateway to northern and north-western India, with 29 berths, deep-draft facilities and a 64-km electrified rail connection linking Mundra-Adipur with the Indian railway network.
Adani argued that a rating based only on the original port would miss part of the economic story.
“If we build only for the demand we can see today, India will always be late for the opportunities of tomorrow,” he said.
His second example was Vizhinjam International Seaport in Kerala. The port has been developed primarily for transhipment and gateway container traffic. It has a natural depth of about 18 metres and is located close to major international shipping routes. The port authority says the site can handle ships carrying more than 18,000 TEUs.
India has long depended on overseas ports for a large share of its container transhipment. The arrival of Vizhinjam is intended to give Indian cargo a domestic transhipment option. The first mother ship, MV San Fernando, arrived at the port in July 2024, marking the start of container transhipment operations.
The project also has a wider industrial plan. Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd says it is planning port-led industrial activity over about 3,500 acres and is seeking investment in logistics and industrial development in southern Kerala.
For Adani, this wider effect is important when assessing the credit strength of such a project. A rating can measure whether a port can repay its debt. The harder question is how to measure the value created when that port changes shipping routes, supports logistics companies and attracts other businesses.
Khavda in Gujarat provides another example. Adani Green Energy is developing a 30 GW renewable energy plant in the Kutch region. The project covers about 538 square kilometres. Company documents say the site is planned to generate about 87.4 billion units of clean electricity each year when fully developed.
The first electricity from the project entered the national grid in February 2024, when 551 MW of solar capacity was commissioned. The project has since expanded, with Adani Green Energy reporting 9.4 GW of operational capacity at Khavda as of 31 March 2026.
Adani said Khavda should be viewed in the context of the industries that could depend on large amounts of reliable electricity. He linked renewable power with data centres, artificial intelligence and manufacturing.
“Rating frameworks often measure individual assets. But we must realise that the real value in today’s age is being created at the intersection, where ‘energy + data + manufacturing’ converge,” he said.
The point becomes more relevant as AI computing expands. Large AI systems require more than software. They need data centres, land, cooling systems, transmission networks and a steady supply of electricity. This raises a question for credit analysts: how should the value of one part of such a system be measured when it supports several others?
Adani said the proposed changes should not make borrowing easier simply because a project is large or strategically important.
“We do not need lower standards, but we need wider lenses,” he said.
He called for models that can consider what he described as “ecosystem multipliers and strategic resilience”, while still examining debt, cash flow and execution risk.
The distinction matters for investors. Credit ratings are meant to provide an independent view of the ability of a borrower or debt instrument to meet its financial obligations. A broader model would therefore have to add new measures without weakening the basic test of repayment capacity.
Adani said rating agencies should be able to separate projects that are financially unrealistic from those where several connected assets create value that is difficult to see through a single-asset calculation.
He also argued that India could take the lead in developing such a model as its infrastructure projects become larger and more closely connected. The proposed framework, if developed, could then be considered by other emerging economies facing similar questions.
“Why should the world’s first truly comprehensive Credit Framework for Integrated Platform Infrastructure not come from India?” he asked.
The debate comes as India continues to expand ports, renewable power, transmission networks, manufacturing capacity and digital infrastructure. The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has also been working to increase the role of Indian ports in container transhipment, including through Vizhinjam.
For rating agencies, the challenge will be to turn the idea into measurable rules. A wider assessment could include the effect of supporting businesses, transport links, energy availability and strategic importance. But those factors would still need clear evidence before they could be used in a credit decision.
Adani summed up the difference between the people building these projects and those assessing them in simple terms.
“A builder imagines what does not yet exist. An analyst questions whether imagination can survive reality. Both perspectives are necessary.”
His proposal now puts the question before CareEdge: whether India’s new generation of infrastructure can be judged using models built for an earlier era, or whether the rating process itself needs to change.
