Can India's dash to build roads lift exports? | Mint Primer | Mint

As national elections draw near, public spending has taken an upturn in India. The government is relying on an infrastructure build-up to multiply people’s incomes and support economic growth. Paced-up highway construction has been placed in the spotlight by the Centre’s aim to construct a record 45km of highways daily in 2023-24 on an average. This would add up to 16,000km during the year, exceeding the last high of 13,298km achieved in 2020-21 at a rate of 36.4km per day. Highway construction had slowed after that, with our daily rate dropping to 29km and 24km in 2021-22 and 2022-23, respectively. Let us explore whether India's infrastructure boom can propel economic growth.