India needs $1 trillion for new roads, ports and airports: Nitin Gadkari
The transport minister said that his ministry expects an additional Rs 15-20,000 crore in the upcoming Union Budget for 2016-17 to meet the "major challenge".
Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that India needs $1 trillion (about Rs 67 lakh crore) for new roads, ports and airports over the next few years, reported PTI. He said the National Democratic Alliance government is set to transform the country's infrastructure. Gadkari added that although there is no dearth of funds to meet this "major challenge", bureaucratic hurdles delay the process.
The minister said that building of infrastructure will add 2% to the country's GDP growth. Gadkari said his ministry is working on a target of 30 kilometres of new roads per day by March 31, besides working towards achieving an ambitious target of 100 kilometres a day. The ministry expects an additional Rs 15-20,000 crore in the upcoming Union Budget for 2016-17, over the current year's outlay of Rs 45,000 crore.