Road Transport
India has the 2nd largest road network in the world (~6.4 million km), after the US. Roads carry ~85% of passenger traffic and ~63% of freight traffic.
Road Classification
| Category |
Length (km) |
Authority |
Notes |
| National Highways (NH) |
1,46,000+ |
NHAI (Ministry of Road Transport) |
2% of network but carries 40% of traffic |
| State Highways (SH) |
1,80,000+ |
State PWD |
Connects district headquarters |
| District Roads |
6,00,000+ |
District authorities |
Rural connectivity |
| Rural Roads |
4,000,000+ |
Panchayats/Zilla Parishad |
PMGSY (Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana) |
| Urban Roads |
5,00,000+ |
Municipalities |
City roads |
Expressways and Major Highways
| Highway |
Route |
Length (km) |
Features |
| Golden Quadrilateral |
Delhi-Mumbai-Chennai-Kolkata-Delhi |
5,846 |
Connects 4 metro cities; NHAI Phase I |
| North-South-East-West (NSEW) Corridor |
Srinagar-Kanyakumari, Silchar-Porbandar |
7,300 |
NHAI Phase II |
| Delhi-Mumbai Expressway |
Delhi-Vadodara-Mumbai |
1,350 |
India’s longest expressway; 8-12 lanes |
| Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway |
Bengaluru-Mysuru |
118 |
10-lane; reduced travel time by 50% |
| Eastern Peripheral Expressway |
Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal |
135 |
Decongests Delhi; 6-lane |
| Mumbai-Goa Highway |
NH66 (Mumbai-Kanyakumari) |
1,200 |
Upgradation underway |
| Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway |
Under construction |
600 |
4-6 lane; reduce Delhi-Katra time to 6 hrs |
| Chennai-Bengaluru Expressway |
Under construction |
262 |
6-8 lane |
Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)
- Launched: 2000 (Year 2000)
- Objective: Connect all habitations of 500+ population (250+ in hilly/tribal areas)
- Achieved: 95%+ of targeted habitations connected
- Road length built: ~7,50,000 km
- Impact: Improved market access, education (girls attendance up), health outcomes
Inland Waterways
India has 14,500 km of navigable waterways but only ~6,000 km used for cargo transportation. IWT (Inland Water Transport) carries only 0.5% of India’s freight (vs. 30% in China, 10% in Bangladesh).
National Waterways
| Waterway |
Route |
Length (km) |
Established |
| NW1 |
Allahabad-Haldia (Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly) |
1,620 |
1986 |
| NW2 |
Sadia-Dhubri (Brahmaputra) |
891 |
1988 |
| NW3 |
Kollam-Kottapuram (West Coast Canal, Kerala) |
205 |
1993 |
| NW4 |
Kakinada-Puducherry (Godavari-Krishna canals) + part of Krishna-Godavari delta |
1,095 |
2008 |
| NW5 |
Talcher-Dhamra (Brahmani, Mahanadi delta) |
623 |
2008 |
| NW 6-111 |
106 additional waterways declared NW since 2016 |
20,000+ |
2016 |
Jal Marg Vikas Project (NW1)
- World Bank-funded project to enhance navigation capacity on NW1 (Allahabad-Haldia)
- Target: 1,500-2,000 tonne vessels; 24/7 navigation
- New terminals: Varanasi, Sahibganj (Jharkhand), Haldia
- First cargo movement from Varanasi to Haldia (2018)
Air Transport
| Category |
Operations |
Key Players |
| International |
30+ airlines connect India |
Air India, IndiGo (largest in India), Vistara |
| Domestic |
100+ airports; 650+ routes |
IndiGo (55% market share), Air India, SpiceJet, Akasa, Nok Air |
| Cargo |
Dedicated cargo carriers |
Blue Dart (DHL), SpiceXpress, Pradhan Mantri Cargo |
Airport Classification
| Class |
Number |
Threshold |
| Major (Customs) |
24 |
International operations |
| Domestic |
70+ |
Scheduled operations |
| Regional |
30+ (UDAAN) |
RCS flights |
UDAAN Scheme (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik)
- Launched 2017: Connect unserved and underserved airports
- Financial incentives: Viability Gap Funding (VGF) capped fares
- Operational: 50+ new airports connected; 600+ new routes
- Example: Shimla-Delhi ₹3,500 vs. ₹8,000 earlier
International Airports
| City |
Airport |
Code |
Passengers (annual) |
| Delhi |
IGIA (Indira Gandhi) |
DEL |
73 million |
| Mumbai |
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Intl. |
BOM |
50 million |
| Bengaluru |
Kempegowda Intl. |
BLR |
37 million |
| Chennai |
Chennai Intl. |
MAA |
22 million |
| Hyderabad |
Rajiv Gandhi Intl. |
HYD |
22 million |
| Kolkata |
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Intl. |
CCU |
17 million |
| Kochi |
Cochin Intl. |
COK |
11 million |
Key Government Initiatives for Transport
National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP)
- ₹111 lakh crore investment plan (2020-2025)
- ~40% for transport: roads, railways, ports, airports
PM GatiShakti (2021)
- National Master Plan for multimodal connectivity
- Integrates all modes: road, rail, inland waterways, ports, airports
- GIS-based portal for planning infrastructure projects
- Reduce logistics cost from 13-14% of GDP to <10%
Logistics Efficiency
- India’s logistics cost: 13-14% of GDP (vs. 8-10% in developed economies)
- Logistics Performance Index (World Bank): India rank 38 (2023) — up from 54 (2016)
- National Logistics Policy (2022): Aim for digital tracking, reduced turnaround time, single-window clearances
