According to popular perception, India is a land of paradoxes. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways exemplifies this assertion. With a road network of over 4.42 million kilometers, India is among the top three countries in the world in terms of total road network size. However, as of 2008, only 49.2%, or 2.20 million kilometers of the roads were paved.

The density of India’s highway network -- at 0.66 km of highway per square kilometer of land – is similar to that of the United States (0.65) and much greater than China's (0.16) or Brazil's (0.20). However, if you look at this road network in terms of population, India has only 4 km of roads per 1,000 people. India has less than 0.07 km of all-weather, four or more lane highways per 1,000 people. In contrast, the United States has 21 km of predominantly paved and high quality roads per 1,000 people.

India’s road network carries nearly 65% of the nation's freight and 85% of its passenger traffic. No wonder that roads are part of the basic troika of promises made to the Indian electorate (power and water being the other two).The road network contributes 4.7% to the Indian GDP. Since it plays such a significant role to play in the Indian society and economy, the government considers its road network critical to the country’s development, social integration and security needs of the country. Yet, Indian faces multiple challenges on this front.  Forty percent of India’s villages don’t have access to all-weather roads. Safety remains a big area of concern – India ranks No. 1 on the list of total road fatalities, globally. A 2009 World Health Organisation survey says that more than 300 people die everyday on Indian roads and at least two million people are disabled caused from auto accidents.

The “thread that binds the nation together” is truly a deserving metaphor for a road network that is one of the largest in the world. It’s a grand system of national highways, state highways and the roads that run endlessly within cities. Roads in India have come a really long way. It is possible to witness all the stages of road development in this country—from the “pugdandies” (a small path created by heavy foot traffic) to the swanky six-lane flyovers and expressways; from the narrow dilapidated roads fit only for bullock-carts to Rajpath of Delhi.

Roads have a long history in India. The Indian epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana mention people using horse drawn chariots and carts. Even Atharva Veda, one of the most ancient Hindu scriptures, talks about road construction and precautions to be taken. Kautilya's Arthasashtra too talks about roads for chariots and stresses the importance of traffic rules and road safety. The first evidence of road development in Indian Subcontinent was found in the ancient cities of Harrapa and Mohenjodaro of the Indus Valley Civilization, which dates back circa fourth millennium BC.

From the 6th to 4th century BC, the region witnessed the development of small independent states in several parts of India. The road network developed with the socio-economic intermingling among these states. Development of roads took a new turn during Mauryan rule in the 4th century. In Mauryan day's, roads played a crucial part in military operations to keep the vast empire united. In ancient times there was a road called “Uttarpatha” (Northern High Road) which was developed further in 16th century by Sher Shah Suri. It was eventually known as the Grand Trunk Road.

But it was the Mughal era that connected the entire subcontinent with roads in order to control the vast empire. And later with the arrival of the British, the Indian road network acquired the western technology, which revived and renovated various roads.

In July 1942, the Department of War Transport was formed by the bifurcation of the then Department of Communications. The functions allocated to the Department of War Transport included major ports, utilization of road and water transport, petrol rationing and producer gas, coastal shipping and the administration and development of major ports. In 1957, the Department of War Transport was re-named the Ministry of Transport & Communications and the Department of Transport was placed under it. The department of transport went through a lot of changes and was made a part of different ministries. The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways and Ministry of Shipping were merged on September 2, 2004 into a single Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport & Highways, with two departments – the Department of Shipping and the Department of Road Transport & Highways. And in 2009, the above two ministries were again divided into separate entities.

Today, India has one of the largest road networks in the world consisting of (i) national highways (NHs), (ii) state highways (SHs), (iii) major district roads (MDRs), and (iv) Rural Roads (RRs) that include other district roads and village roads. NHs with a length of 66,590 km comprises only 2.0% of the road network but carry 40% of the road-based traffic. SHs with a length of about 13,7000 km and MDRs with a length of 300,000 km together constitute the secondary system of road transportation, which contributes significantly to the development of the rural economy and industrial growth of the country. The secondary system also carries about 40% of the total road traffic, although it constitutes about 13% of the total road length. RRs, once adequately developed and maintained, hold the potential to provide the rural connectivity vital for generating higher agricultural incomes and productive employment opportunities besides promoting access to economic and social services. However, vast sections of the country's transportation network remain underdeveloped.

The ministry is responsible for development and maintenance of national highways, administration of the Central Road Fund and formulation and implementation of policies relating to road transport. The subjects allocated to the Department of Road Transport & Highways include:

• Administration of the Road Transport Corporations Act, 1950
• Highways declared by or under law made by Parliament to be National Highways
• Roads other than National Highways for Union Territories
• Administration of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988
• Central Road Fund
• Coordination and research pertaining to road works
• Road works financed in whole or in part by the central government other than those in the North-Eastern Region
• Formulation of the privatization policy in the infrastructure areas of roads

There are five wings in the department: Administration, Transport, Transport Research, Roads, and Finance.

Attached Bodies or Autonomous Bodies

The following autonomous bodies are under the administrative purview of this department:

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)

The NHAI was constituted by an act of Parliament in 1988 under the administrative control of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. NHAI has been set up as a central authority to develop, maintain and manage the National Highways. The authority, however, became operational in February 1995. The authority consists of a fulltime chairman, and not more than five full-time members and four part-time members who are appointed by the central government.

Indian Academy of Highway Engineers (formerly known as National Institute for Training of Highway Engineers, NITHE)

The Indian Academy of Highway Engineers is a registered society under the administrative control of this ministry. The Minister-in-Charge is the president and the secretary, road transport and highways is the vice-president of this society. The society is advised by a governing body of eminent engineers and administrators. The director general (Road Development) and special secretary of this department is the chairman of the body. It was set up as a collaborative body of the central and state governments in 1983. It imparts training to freshly recruited and also to in-service highway engineers. The areas of training include different aspects of road and bridge engineering, contract management, quality control etc.

Border Roads Organisation

The BRO was conceptualized initially in 1960 to construct and maintain roads in border areas for the Ministry of Defence. The roads were classified as General Staff (GS) roads. Besides GS roads, the BRO also executes works entrusted for ministries of the central government. The BRO is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence. The Director General Border Roads (DGBR) heads the BRO.

The previous head, Kamal Nath, set an audacious target of constructing 20 kilometers of highway every day; a steep jump of from 3 to 4 kilometers a day. India has not reached that number yet but according to recent reports 11 kilometers of highway is constructed every day. That is where the attention and money go to.

At the time of independence from the UK in 1947, India inherited a fairly developed surface transport infrastructure. However, these roads were highly variable both in quality and in terms of surface density. The focus on road development, as with most of India’s infrastructure, was inadequate. But things have been put on the right track with healthy participation from the private sector.

Statistics from the Department of Road Transportation and Highways (2009) indicate that a total of 86 concessions based on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model have been awarded to date, with 68 going to domestic firms and 18 to foreign firms. These covered a total length of 5,607 km, of which 980 km (17.4%) were completed. The total outlay for these projects was USD $9.4 billion.

In addition to the PPP model, roads are being built under through external funding as well. The latest government statistics indicate a total of 81 externally-funded projects that aim to add 4,017 km to India’s road network, of which the World Bank funded a total of 30 projects corresponding to a road length of 1,465 km. Other donor-funded projects were carried out through the Asian Development Bank (44 projects, 2,402 km) and the Japanese Government (seven projects, 150 km).

The 11th plan envisions a total investment of US$77.4 billion in roads, of which the public sector would contribute US$51 billion and the private sector the rest.

In the 2010-2011 budget allocation for road transport increased by over 13% from Rs. 17520000000 crore ($3.56 billion USD) to INR 19894000000 crore ($4.05 billion USD). There was a further 11% hike for the ministry in the budget of 2011-2012 with Rs. 10340 crore ($2.1 billion USD) allocated for National Highways Development programs (NHDP).

Joshi leads Rajasthan Highway Boom

In India, it is expected that ministers of state will concentrate development in their own district or state, but CP Joshi has taken this practice to extreme level. Newspapers like the Indian Express have noted that in 2011, Joshi’s home state of Rajasthan led India in new highway construction by more than 50%. Under Joshi’s reign, the Express reported that “788 km of Rajasthan roads were notified as national highways, as opposed to only 36 km in Gujarat and a token 14 km in Uttar Pradesh,” two neighboring states. This concentration of roads is even more suspicious when you consider that Rajasthan is a state with relatively good road connectivity, while whole regions like the Naxal Belt and the Northeast still have poor roads.  

C P Joshi plays Union Minister of Rajasthan Road Transport (Indian Express)

Rajasthan Roads Get Special Attention under Joshi's Watch (by Dipak Kumar Dash, Times of India)

World’s Most Dangerous Roads

With more than one death and four injuries every minute, India registers the highest number of road fatalities in the world. In 2009, the country witnessed almost half a million accidents, which killed 125,660 people and injured 500,000 others.

The official number of deaths increased in 2010 to 130,000. The proportion of injuries to deaths remained unchanged at 4:1. Deaths in road accidents are the highest despite the fact that India’s population is smaller than neighboring China’s and that it has fewer automobiles than the United States. There is a general perception among people that the government departments involved are not working effectively. It is not unusual to see people stopping all vehicular traffic on a road, even the highways, after an accident to protest against the government apathy.

Faulty planning combined with poor driving habits and relaxed enforcement of laws continues to take 300 lives every day. Moreover, road accidents cause a 3% loss to the Gross Domestic Product every year or a loss of roughly Rs 75,000 crore.

Highway to Hell (by Ashish K Mishra, Forbes India)

The Ugly Side of Indian Automotive Boom (Hindustan Times)

Greasing Palms To Lay Concrete

There have been numerous allegation of corruption against the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, particularly its apex agency for development of national highways — the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM) estimated the economic loss due to bad condition of roads at over Rs 30,000 crore per year. In August 2010, the road transport ministry told the Rajya Sabha that out of 441 projects undertaken by the NHAI since its inception, 299 (67.80%) had been delayed, resulting in massive cost and time overruns. In the last three years, Central Bureau of Investigation received over 100 complaints, anonymous and official complaining against the connivance of the government officials and various private developers.

It is alleged that millions of rupees are routinely paid as kickbacks to procure highway development contracts, manipulate bid documents, rig the tendering process, inflate project costs, and correct shoddy construction. Recently, some of the chief engineers and senior officials of the ministry submitted their resignation en bloc citing lack of transparency in the awarding of the contracts.

Highway Robbery (by Ashish Khetan, Tehelka)

En Bloc Resignations (by JPN/Bureau, Jagaran Post)

No Money for Highways (Pioneer)

7 Main Problems Faced by Road Transport in India (K. Raja, Preservearticles.com)

India’s road network is lackluster compared to other developing countries of similar economic size. India did not invest in building a world class road network for close to five decades after independence. However, things have changed since then. The government has responded to the challenges and there has been a consistent effort put towards improving the Indian roads. In 1994, some major reforms were undertaken. The Motor Vehicle Act of 1988 was amended with a view to simplify procedures and to give more powers to the state governments in matter of granting driving licenses and permits. Road sector was declared an industry to facilitate borrowings on easy terms and to permit floating of bonds. Besides Monopolistic and Restrictive Trade Practices (MRTP) provisions were relaxed to allow large private firms to enter highway sector.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) that governed India between 1998 and 2004 initiated ambitious ventures like the Golden Quadrilateral that was designed to link India’s four major cities (Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai) through modern expressways and also by enhancing the scope of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to improve urban connectivity in general. The ‘new’ road policy laid emphasis on private sector involvement mainly in the form of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP). The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government that assumed office in 2004 and is currently in its second term has provided policy continuity over the past six years and is substantially enlarging the scope of the road development program. However, there are still some unresolved issues.

Liberalize Road Development

State agencies need to cease being the sole guardians of the state roads to increase the private sector participation. India requires liberalization of labor laws, allowing the import of labor with specialized skills, needed for the execution of projects. The most daunting challenge remains land acquisition for projects, which varies from state to state.

Improve Road Quality

Majority of the National Highways have less than four lanes. Almost a quarter of highways are prone to congestion reducing the average speed of trucks and buses to 35 km per hour. This congestion also contributes to high fuel consumption and pollution. Most roads are of poor quality and the maintenance of roads remains significantly under-funded with the result that only one-third of maintenance needs are met.

Link rural areas through modern roads

Roads are a precursor to the economic development of rural areas. Almost 70% of India's populations reside in rural areas. Although the rural road network is extensive, some 40% of India’s villages are cut off during monsoon season as they lack all-weather roads. This problem is even more acute in the northeastern states which are poorly linked to the country’s major economic centers.

Mitigate Safety and Environmental Threats from Cars

Motor vehicle ownership in India has been growing at a very fast pace. In fact, the number of vehicles on the Indian roads has doubled every six years so from 1980 to 2004. It has brought mobility and prosperity to quite a few people but there have been some adverse impacts too. Road traffic accidents and death, increasing vehicular emission, congestion on the roads, traffic noise, and the loss of accessibility, particularly for pedestrians are all issues that the country must deal with. Then there is the issue of fuel; the present lead content in gasoline is 0.54 g/L. The government is attempting to lower the lead content to 0.15 g/L, which is nowhere near the world average lead content of 0.013 g/L.

C P Joshi

Dr. C P Joshi served as Union Cabinet Minister of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways from January 2011 to June 2013. Joshi was born in July 1950 in Rajasthan’s Nathdwara town near the city of Udaipur.  After graduating from M.B. College Udaipur with his B.A. in Law, he later earned a Masters in Physics. While earning his PhD in psychology at Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Joshi was elected president of the student union.  Joshi specializes in the study of intelligence quotient.

Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Mohan All Sukhadia mentored Joshi, urging him to get involved in politics. Before getting inducted into the Union Cabinet of Ministers, Dr. Joshi was working as the President of Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee. He has been MLA in the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly for four terms and has served as a State Cabinet Minister in the Rajasthan Government. In 2009, he was elected as a Member of Parliament for the 15th Lok Sabha. Prior to his taking charge of this ministry, he was the Union Cabinet Minister for Rural Development.

During his tenure as minister of rural development, the landmark Mahatma Gandhi national rural employment guarantee scheme came under intense scrutiny due to corruption.  Bureaucrats at the village and district level were frequently creating false records and siphoning off the Rs.100 per day that was supposed to be paid to some of India’s poorest people. 

Joshi is married to Hemlata Joshi. The couple has one son. Joshi is an atheist.

Official Profile

Kamal Nath

Kamal Nath is a member of Indian National Congress and also served as General Secretary from 2001 to 2004. He entered the electoral politics in 1980 when he became a member of parliament in the 7th Lok Sabha. He was inducted into the Union Council of Ministers in 1991 as Minister of Environment & Forests. He served as Union Minister of State from 1995 to 1996, Textiles and as Union Cabinet Minister of Commerce & Industry from 2004 to 2009.

T R Baalu

T R Baalu is a prominent and important member of DMK. He has been an elected Member of Parliament since 1996. In 2009, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Sriperumbudur constituency. He was the cabinet minister for Environment and Forests from 1999 to 2003. From 2004 to 2009, he was the cabinet minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping.