Explain in detail the speeding development in constructing the road after Independence.
Answers
Major highways in Indian road network.
India has a road network of over 5,603,293 kilometres (3,481,725 mi) as on 31 March 2016, the second largest road network in the world.[1] At 1.70 km of roads per square kilometre of land, the quantitative density of India's road network is higher than that of Japan (0.91) and the United States (0.67), and far higher than that of China (0.46), Brazil (0.18) or Russia (0.08).[1] Adjusted for its large population, India has approximately 4.63 km of roads per 1000 people. However, qualitatively India's roads are a mix of modern highways and narrow, unpaved roads, and are being improved.[2] As on 31 March 2016, 62.5% of Indian roads were paved.[1]
India in its past did not allocate enough resources to build or maintain its road network.[2] This has changed since 1995, with major efforts currently underway to modernize the country's road infrastructure.[3] The length of national highways in India has increased from 70,934 km in 2010-11 to 101,011 km in 2015-16.[1]
NH 66 in Trivandrum, Kerala
Vijayawada-Guntur Expressway in Andhra Pradesh
NH76: Part of India's recently completed 4-lane Golden Quadrilateral highway network
As of May 2017, India had completed and placed in use over 28,900 kilometres of recently built 4 or 6-lane highways connecting many of its major manufacturing centres, commercial and cultural centres.[4] According to Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, as of March 2016, India had about 1,01,011 kilometers of national highways and expressways, plus another 1,76,166 kilometers of state highways.[1] Major projects are being implemented under the National Highways Development Project, a government initiative. Private builders and highway operators are also implementing major projects - for example, the Yamuna Expressway between Delhi and Agra was completed ahead of schedule and within budget,[5] while the KMP Expressway started in 2006 is far behind schedule, over budget and incomplete.[6]
According to 2009 estimates by Goldman Sachs, India will need to invest US$1.7 trillion on infrastructure projects before 2020 to meet its economic needs, a part of which would be in upgrading India's road network.[7] The investment in national highways increased from ₹14,095.87 crore (US$2.0 billion) in 2005-06 to ₹98,988.06 crore (US$14 billion) in 2015-16.[1] During the same period the total investment in national highways was ₹476,589.37 crore (US$66 billion). The Government of India is attempting to promote foreign investment in road projects.[7][8][9] Foreign participation in Indian road network construction has attracted 45 international contractors and 40 design/engineering consultants, with Malaysia, South Korea, United Kingdom and United States being the largest players