THE HIGHWAY MAN - NITIN GADKARI

A visionary when it comes to recognising the role of highways in the growth of a country's economy, Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari has been instrumental in the rapid expansion of the road network in the country. He is confident that it will be on par with that of the US by the next year

- Abdul Haleem Sherif

The traditionally held image of India as an infrastructure-deficient country has undergone a transformation over the past one decade, thanks largely to one person: Nitin Gadkari, Union minister for road transport and highways.

“Without roads, water and power, we cannot have industry and capital, and, without that, there is no employment potential. No employment potential means that you cannot encourage growth,” Gadkari had said in an interview to Outlook Business in September this year.

Having taken charge of the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) in 2014, Gadkari has overseen a rapid transformation of India’s roadways. Road transport is responsible for about 60% of total freight movement and 87% of total passenger traffic in India. In 2013–14, the country had an overall network of 48.85 lakh kilometres, of which 92,851 kilometres were national highways and expressways. By 2022–23, this increased to an overall network of 63.32 lakh kilometres, and national highways amounted to almost 1.45 lakh kilometres. “Now, time has come when one can confidently say that the Indian highways sector is probably the most matured infrastructure sector [in the country] and has enough leverage to attract private capital and meet their requirement of generating reasonable return on investment,” says Sushi Shyamal, investment banking partner for infrastructure at EY India.