Through the ages, rivers have served as effective waterways, carrying people and goods

over long distances. Even today, many countries depend heavily on inland water transport,
especially for large and bulky cargo, as it is cheaper, more reliable and less polluting than
transporting goods by road or rail

Central Railway launches crack-down against touts

To curb the menace of unauthorised agents who book tickets online in bulk, sometimes
using illegal software, and indulge in black-marketing, Central Railway (CR) has launched a
massive drive against such activities across its five divisions.

Indian Railways to introduce airline-like food, passengers may have to

pay more
In a bid to improve the quality of food served in trains, Indian Railways has decided to
change its menu..

500 long-distance trains to run quicker, 'innovative timetable' from

November
The Indian Railways will soon cut short the running time of over 500 long distance trains by
up to two hours,

Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the high-speed line on Thursday
during a visit by his Japanese counterpart, Shinzō Abe, to the western state of
Gujarat.The Shinkansen model train will cut the 316-mile journey from
Ahmedabad to Mumbai from eight hours to around three. the train will have a
maximum speed of 217mph (350km/h), more than twice the speed of the
country’s current fastest train, which runs from the capital, Delhi, to Agra at a
comparably sluggish maximum of 100mph. The fast rail is also significant for
the Modi government, which made the bullet train a key part of the
modernisation agenda on which it campaigned at the 2014 elections. It also
claims the project will create about 36,000 jobs.
Last Updated: October, 2017
ROADS SECTOR REPORT | OCTOBER, 2017
Introduction
India has the second largest road network across the world at 4.7 million km. This road network transports more than 60 per
cent of all goods in the country and 85 per cent of India’s total passenger traffic. Road transportation has gradually
increased over the years with the improvement in connectivity between cities, towns and villages in the country.
The Indian roads carry almost 90 per cent of the country’s passenger traffic and around 65 per cent of its freight. In India
sales of automobiles and movement of freight by roads is growing at a rapid rate. Cognizant of the need to create an
adequate road network to cater to the increased traffic and movement of goods, Government of India has set earmarked 20
per cent of the investment of US$ 1 trillion reserved for infrastructure during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2012–17) to develop
the country's roads.
Market size
The transport infrastructure sector in India is expected to grow at 6.1 per cent in real terms in 2017 and grow at a
Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.9 per cent through the year 2021, thereby becoming the fastest-expanding
component of the country's infrastructure sector.
The construction of highways reached 8,142 km during FY 2016-17, with an all-time high average pace of 22.3 km per day.
In the first two months of FY2017-18, 1,627 km of highway was constructed at an average of 26.3 km per day.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), 133-km roads per day in 2016-17 were constructed as against a
2011-14 average of 73-km per day.
Key Investments/Developments
The Union Minister of State for Road, Transport and Shipping has stated that the Government aims to boost corporate
investment in roads and shipping sector, along with introducing business-friendly strategies that will balance profitability with
effective project execution.
Some of the key investments and developments in the Indian roads sector are as follows:

 The National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL) has been awarded a contract
to build five all-weather access tunnels worth Rs 23,000 crore (US$ 3.57 billion) in Jammu and Kashmir by
2024.
 Abertis Infraestructuras SA, a Spanish infrastructure firm, has agreed to buy two toll road assets in operation
in South India from Macquarie Group for Rs 1,000 crore(US$ 150 million) to scale up its presence in India.

Government Initiatives
In the Union Budget 2017-18, the Government of India has allotted Rs 64,000 crore (US$ 9.55 billion) to NHAI for roads and
highways and Rs 27,000 crore (US$ 4.03 billion) for PMGSY.
Some of the recent developments are as follows

 The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, Government of India, has approved the development of 19
kms long four laning from Pandoh Bypass end to Takoli section of National Highway (NH) -21 in Himachal
Pradesh, which is estimated to cost Rs 2,775.93 crore (US$ 430.27 million).
 The Road Transport & Highways Ministry has invested around Rs 3.17 trillion (US$ 47.55 billion), while the
Shipping Ministry has invested around Rs 80,000 crore (US$ 12.0 billion) in the past two and a half years for
building world class highways and shipping infrastructure in the country.

Road Ahead
The government, through a series of initiatives, is working on policies to attract significant investor interest. The Indian
government plans to develop a total of 66,117 km of roads under different programmes such as National Highways
Development Project (NHDP), Special Accelerated Road Development Programme in North East (SARDP-NE) and Left
Wing Extremism (LWE). The government has identified development of 2,000 km of coastal roads to improve the
connectivity between ports and remote villages.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) plans to build 50,000 km of roads worth US$ 250 billion by 2022 as part of
a long-term goal of doubling the length of the national highway network to 200,000 km.

Since the Ganga occupies a special place in the social, cultural and environmental
landscape of the country, the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has sought to
adopt the least intrusive methods of making the river navigable. It has therefore followed the
principle of ‘working with nature’ while planning the Ganga waterway.
 IWAI is also ensuring that water traffic does not impact the two aquatic wildlife sanctuaries
that fall along this stretch of the river -- the Kashi Turtle Sanctuary at Varanasi and the
Vikramshila Dolphin Sanctuary at Bhagalpur.

As a first step, information about these protected aquatic habitats and other sensitive areas
such as wetlands will be fed into the new River Information System being developed under
the World Bank-supported Project.

Road Ahead
India’s aviation industry is largely untapped with huge growth opportunities, considering
that air transport is still expensive for majority of the country’s population, of which
nearly 40 per cent is the upwardly mobile middle class.
The industry stakeholders should engage and collaborate with policy makers to
implement efficient and rational decisions that would boost India’s civil aviation industry.
With the right policies and relentless focus on quality, cost and passenger interest, India
would be well placed to achieve its vision of becoming the third-largest aviation market
by 2026 .
Dhirubhai Ambani Aerospace Park Gets Largest Foreign Investment In Defence
Sector
Business | Indo-Asian News Service | Friday October 27, 2017

The DAAP will be home to the Dassault Reliance Aerospace Ltd (DRAL), a 51:49 joint venture between
Reliance Aerostructure and Dassault Aviation, the French aviation major specialising in defence aircraft.
Aviation
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 Mobile Aadhaar Can Now Be Used To Enter Airports
Press Trust of India | Saturday October 28, 2017

A circular issued by aviation security agency BCAS said m-Aadhaar will be allowed as identity proof.

Centre Plans To Build Water Aerodromes For Seaplanes

India News | Press Trust of India | Wednesday October 18, 2017
The government is planning to build water aerodromes for operating seaplanes after some firms expressed interest to
operate them, a senior civil aviation ministry official said today. A water aerodrome is any water body that complies
with certain minimum requirements for landing an aircraft, the official said

Huge investment and employment opportunities beckon Bihar

The Centre is developing NW-1 under the Jal Marg Vikas Project with assistance from World Bank at an
estimated cost of Rs 4,200 crore.