SWOT ANALYSIS OF INDIAN ROAD NETWORK

Strengths
1. India has a large road network of over 3.314 million kilometers of roadways (2.1 million miles), making it the third largest road network in the world 2. At 0.66 km of highway per square kilometer of land the density of Indias highway network is higher than that of the United States (0.65) and far higher than that of China's (0.16) or Brazil's (0.20) 3. The National and State Highways form the economic backbone of the country. 4. It helped development along the route, and many towns have sprung up along major highways. State Highways and Major District Roads constitute the secondary system of road infrastructure of India. 5. By acting as the link between the rural and urban areas, the State Highways and Major District Roads contribute significantly to the development of the rural economy and industrial growth of the country. 6. It is estimated that the secondary system carries about 40 per cent of the total road traffic and comprises about 20% of the total road length.

Weakness
1. As of 2002 only 47.3% of the network consisted of paved roads 2. the funds set aside for the maintenance and expansion of the road network have been insufficient 3. National Highways represent only 2% of the total network length, they handle about 40% of the total road traffic. 4. Presently, lane capacity is low and only about 16% of I ndia's roads are four lanes or above 5. Approximately a quarter of all India's highways are congested, in some cases reducing truck and bus speeds to 30-40 km/h (19-25 mph). 6. Road maintenance remains under-funded, and some 40 percent of villages in India lack access to all-weather roads. 7. Due to decades of bureaucratic and procedural difficulties, the road network has suffered long delays. 8. Transparency International estimates that truckers pay annually $5 billion in bribes.

Opportunities
1. To modernize the country's road infrastructure and India plans to spend approximately $70 Billion USD over the next three years 2. India will need to spend $1.7 Trillion USD on infrastructure projects over the next decade to boost economic growth 3. to accomplish this, the Government of India is attempting to promote foreign investment in road projects by offering financial incentives such as toll rights to developers 4. In general, roads in India are primarily bitumen-based macadamized roads but because bitumen is obtained mostly from imported crude oil, and due to other factors, concrete-based roads will prove to be more cost-effective in future. 5. One also comes across unpaved dirt roads in the countryside, which is fast getting converted to paved roads. 6. The main roads in India are under huge pressure and in great need of modernization in order to handle the increased requirements of the Indian economy.

Threats
1. As of 2002 only 47.3% of the network consisted of paved roads. 2. As the funds set aside for the maintenance and expansion of the road network have been insufficient but India will need to spend $1.7 Trillion USD on infrastructure projects over the next decade to boost economic growth. 3. Almost 80% of passenger traffic and about 65% of freight movement is handled by this vast network 4. National Highways represent only 2% of the total network length, they handle about 40% of the total road traffic. 5. India's cities are extremely congested the average bus speed is 610 km/h in many large cities 6. Number of vehicles has been growing at an average pace of 10.16% per annum over the last five years.