Centre mulls 30% hike in highway budgets

MoRTH received Rs 1.18 trillion in funding in 2021-22.

According to experts, while this amount would be good to fast-track highway development, more allocations should be considered since the sector is already working to expand the network of big expressways such as the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway.

An infrastructure sector expert working in a major global audit firm said that the increased government funding for the sector would only work if the funds were used for capital expenditure rather than overheads such as bureaucrat salaries.

The pace of work has accelerated under the Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India, Nitin Gadkari. The length of the country's national highways has grown from 91,287 km in April 2014 to 141,000 km at present. Similarly, construction speed has grown significantly, from 14 km per day in 2014-15 to 37 km per day now.

While the Covid-19 pandemic devastated many sectors at different times over the last two years, the road sector, despite witnessing challenges, made significant progress in terms of national highway construction.

Besides highways, the government will lay strong emphasis on logistics to reduce the country's high logistics expenditure, which accounts for over 15 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).

In this regard, the NHAI is setting up multi-modal logistics parks in strategic locations across the country.

Constructing high-quality roads and ensuring seamless connectivity are key priorities for the infrastructure segment in India, which aims to become a $5-trillion economy in the coming years.