Nitin Gadkari: Indian roads to be as good as American by 2024

India is going through rapid development under PM Modi and the road infrastructure in India shall be as good as the ones in America by 2024, according to Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari while addressing an industry interaction session held by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

In the session on the socio-economic vision of India via infrastructure investments, Nitin Gadkari said that agriculture, industry, employment, and infrastructure represent the pillars of growth and development. People can no longer expect just the government to make all investments as there is a need to find innovative financial models for securing the finances of projects. An excellent example and case study is the management of liquid and solid waste in Mathura.

He added that the road sector lacks a dedicated NBFC such as the power sector or Indian railways which needs to be dealt with at the earliest. Insurance funds and pension funds seem like viable options and further tie-ups with foreign funds for accessible loans against the dollar. Therefore an infrastructure-focused NBFC is an urgent requirement.

The government is working towards systematically addressing challenges in infrastructure development, land acquisition being a major obstacle and reason for delay. However, now all projects commence only after executing 80-90% of acquisitions.

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