Government Committed to Create Robust Infrastructure: President

New Delhi: A robust infrastructure is the engine to economic growth and the government is committed to infuse new vitality in sectors such as highways, ports and railways, President Pranab Mukherjee said on Monday.

Addressing a joint sitting of Parliament at the beginning of budget session, he said, "Robust infrastructure is critical for accelerating economic development and reviving economic growth," adding that development of ports and highways are focus areas for the government.

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari had yesterday said both ports and highways sectors will see Rs 10 lakh crore investment by 2019.

Mr Mukherjee said several policy initiatives to revive the highway sector have been taken, including setting up of National Highways Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) for creation of infrastructure in north-eastern states and border regions of the country.

"New standards have been set to improve quality of roads, both on highways and in rural areas, and electronic tolling has been introduced for hassle-free traffic on selected highways," he said.

"e-Rickshaw and e-Cart have been introduced as a separate category under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, enhancing convenience of passengers and generating thousands of jobs," he added.

He said the government has taken proactive steps on the shipping front to promote the industry, including giving lifetime licenses to Indian ships, allowing them to flag out of country's waters freely, reduction of excise duty on bunker fuel and bringing down customs duty on the steel scrap of ship breaking.

"Government has also formulated 'Sagar Mala' project to promote Port-led development of the coastal regions and communities.

"As part of 'Make in India' initiative, ship designing capabilities, ship-building and ship-repair activities will be strengthened," Mr Mukherjee said.

An environment is being created to increase the Indian shipping tonnage and reduce the transaction time on ports, he said, adding, "an institutional arrangement for comprehensive development of National Waterways for transportation has been envisaged through the 'Jal Marg Vikas' Project."

Mr Gadkari said a new Bill will be introduced in Parliament in the current session to convert 101 rivers into waterways in addition to existing five in the country.

Terming Indian Railways as "arteries" of the economy, Mr Mukherjee said, "My government is committed to reform and infuse new vitality into this sector through better services, improved passenger-safety, and increased movement of freight."

Two Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs), namely Eastern DFC and Western DFC are likely to be commissioned by 2019, he said, adding "action for conducting feasibility studies for the Diamond Quadrilateral project of High Speed Trains connecting Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata has been taken up, and Metro Rail projects have been sanctioned for Ahmadabad and Nagpur."