Kamal Nath, minister of road transport and highways, pitched for American investment and advanced technology transfer in infrastructure development in India's road sector in New York last week.
He addressed two events, including the Mc-Graw-Hill Global Construction Summit 2010. At the summit, he said, "We are not building roads for tomorrow; we are catching up with the past."
He said his ministry was adopting a 'stretch-by-stretch' approach to bring about connectivity of rural and district roads with national highways and focusing on technology and capacity building. He added that this could generate economic activity in remote rural areas.
Nath said infrastructure deficit was the principal challenge to this. India has identified $500 billion in upgrades needed for its crumbling roads, ports and airports - with about one-third of the investment coming from the private sector.
But plans have fallen short of expectations as foreign investors, weighed down by the financial crisis, have stayed away.
Addressing the over 300-strong gathering, including CEOs and senior executives from US finance, consultancy, investment, construction and equipment firms, Nath said, "India's growth does not threaten, it beckons."
In both meetings, he spoke about the opportunities generated by the resurgence of the Indian economy.
"The real potential of India's growth can be understood only if the median national age of 25 years and the prospective rise in disposable incomes of rural India are superimposed on the strong macro-fundamentals of the economy," he said.
