Anantam Highways Trust IPO

(Registered in the Republic of India as an irrevocable trust set up under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882, on July 24, 2024 and registered as an infrastructure investment trust under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Infrastructure Investment Trusts) Regulations, 2014, on August 19, 2024 having registration number IN/InvIT/24-25/003f1).

Review of India's GDP growth: GDP logged 5.7% CAGR between fiscals 2012 and 2023: In 2015, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation changed the base year for calculating India's gross domestic product (GDP) to fiscal 2012 from fiscal 2005. Based on the change, India's GDP clocked a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.7% between fiscals 2012 and 2023, with the country's overall GDP at Rs. 160,714 billion in fiscal 2023 vs Rs. 87,363 billion in fiscal 2012. The pace of growth was despite the stress inflicted by the pandemic that led to the GDP - which was already experiencing a slowdown and had grown 3.9% in fiscal 2020 - contracting 5.8% on-year in real terms in fiscal 2021 to Rs. 136,949 billion. The economy bounced back in fiscal 2022 as the Covid-19 pandemic-related shocks subsided, which resulted in a growth of 9.7% on-year in real GDP to Rs. 150,218 billion. Review of real GDP growth over fiscals 2019-2024 and outlook for fiscals 2025-2030: India ranks as the world's 5th largest economy and is the fastest growing among major economies. The Indian economy logged 4.3% CAGR between fiscals 2019 and 2024. This was a sharp deceleration from a robust 6.7% CAGR between fiscals 2017 and 2019, which was driven by rising consumer aspiration, rapid urbanization, the government's focus on infrastructure investment and growth of the domestic manufacturing sector. Economic growth was supported by benign crude oil prices, soft interest rates and low current account deficit. The Indian government also undertook key reforms and initiatives, such as implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, Make in India, financial inclusion initiatives, and gradual opening of sectors such as retail, e-commerce, defense, railways, and insurance for foreign direct investments (FDIs). A large part of the lower growth between fiscals 2018 and 2023 was because of the economy contracting 5.8% in fiscal 2021 owing to the fallout of Covid-19. The pandemic's impact was more pronounced on contact-sensitive services and social distancing norms-affected services such as entertainment, travel, and tourism, with many industries in the manufacturing sector also facing issues with shortage of raw materials/components as lockdown in various parts of the world upended supply chains. Over the period, India's economic growth was led by services, followed by the industrial sector, while in part impacted by demonetization, the non-banking financial company (NBFC) crisis, slower global economic growth, and the pandemic. As lockdowns were gradually lifted, economic activity revived in the second half of fiscal 2021. After a steep contraction in the first half, owing to rising number of Covid-19 cases, gross domestic product (GDP) moved into positive territory towards the end of fiscal 2021. Subsequently, in fiscal 2022, India's real GDP grew 9.7% from the low base of fiscal 2021. India's GDP exceeded expectations during all four quarters of fiscal 2024. However, growth slowed down in fourth quarter but stayed strong. According to the National Statistics Office's (NSO) provisional estimates, GDP growth slowed to 7.8% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of last fiscal from 8.6% of third quarter but was higher than 6.1% in the year-ago quarter. This prompted the NSO to revise upward the fiscal 2024 GDP growth estimate to 8.2% (which is the provisional estimate), from the earlier estimate of 7.6%. Growth surpassed forecasts in the fiscal 2024, driven by strong government spending and a sharp rise in manufacturing and construction growth. Globally, growth in major economies such as the US and China beat estimates and has contributed to better export earnings for India. According to the National statistics Offices (NSO) first advance estimates (FAE) based on the data for three quarters for the fiscal 2025, India's real gross domestic product (GDP) growth is at 6.4%, significantly slower than the 8.2% in fiscal 2024. Weak investments amid reduced government capital expenditure (capex) are the primary reason for the deceleration. However, private consumption is expected to rise significantly compared to fiscal 2024's weak performance. Based on FAE, GDP growth is expected to pick up in the second half of CY2025, registering a 6.8% rise compared with 6.0% in the first half. Consumption is expected to improve in the second half, but not investment. Crisil Intelligence expects GDP growth to moderate to 6.4% in fiscal 2025 owing to slowing demand, particularly in United States and China, will weigh on global growth. Geopolitical tensions, particularly in the Middle East, remain a risk for trade flows and supply chain pressures for industry and along with the impact of high interest rates.

Anantam Highways Trust (the Trust) is an Indian infrastructure investment trust which proposes to invest in road infrastructure assets. The Trust is sponsored by Alpha Alternatives Fund Advisors LLP (the Sponsor). The Sponsor established the Trust on July 24, 2024 and the Trust was registered with SEBI on August 19, 2024 as an InvIT in accordance with the InvIT Regulations.