Highway construction rate in India on the right track, more than doubles in five years (File | PTI)

Transportation has been a major focus of the Narendra Modi government. Since assuming power in 2014, the government has stressed on developing road and railway infrastructure.

Keeping up with the targets, highway construction and expansion in India crossed 10,000 kms during 2018-19, which translated to 30 kms a day during the fiscal, and more than doubled from 12 kms a day during 2014-15.

The total national highway network for India stands at 1.14 lakh km as on March 31, 2017, which accounts for around 2 per cent of the total road length of 58.98 lakh km. Rural roads constitute the maximum share - around 71 per cent - according to the Economic Survey 2019 data.

Investments in the road sector increased thrice in the last five years to Rs 1.58 lakh crore in 2018-19. The investments have been financed from budgetary support, internal and extra-budgetary resources (IEBR) and private sector. While budgetary support accounted for 48 per cent of the investments in 2018-19, private investments accounted for 14 per cent.

The road sector accounts for about 3.14 per cent of India's gross value added (GVA) and around 69 per cent of India's freight traffic and 90% of passenger traffic. GVA is the measure of the value of goods and services produced in an area, industry or sector of an economy.

Major road projects taken up in the last five years include the Eastern Peripheral Expressway, Delhi-Meerut Expressway and Dhola-Sadiya Bridge. Eastern Peripheral Expressway has been constructed with the objective to de-congest the national capital by providing an alternate route to traffic not destined for Delhi.

The Delhi-Meerut Expressway is the first national highway in the country with 14 lanes, which also has dedicated cycle tracks and pedestrian paths, along with other eco-friendly features. Dhola-Sadiya Bridge connects Assam to Arunachal Pradesh.

The Economic Survey 2019 report attributed the increase in the pace of road construction to pro-active policies to respond to major challenges faced by the sector. These include more power to authorities in terms of approval limits, putting in place mechanisms for inter-ministerial coordination, introducing innovative project financing, and streamlining land acquisition processes.