India Inspires

Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shipping, Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation, is among the most efficient ministers of the present government. From an average highways road construction pace of 3 km/day in May 2014 when he took over, under his tenure this figure now stands at 27 km/day. The National Highways, earlier a stretch of 96,000 km, is now in the process of being expanded to double the length. An unprecedented number of new expressways have been launched, whereas important highways whose construction had been stalled for years have now seen the light of the day. In the shipping sector, under the ambitious Sagarmala Project, the government is developing port infrastructure along the country's 7,500 km coastline. The project includes modernization of the ports and islands and the creation of coastal special economic zones. In his new ministries-Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation-Gadkari has infused new energy with path-breaking initiatives around the interlinking of rivers and expediting the cleaning of Ganga. If one takes into account the sheer magnitude of cumulative infrastructure development work undertaken by Gadkari's ministries over the last four years, it is nothing short of an infrastructure revolution. In this book Tuhin provides a rare insight into the working style of the maverick minister, besides telling us how these ministries are silently and crucially fuelling Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream of New India.