IBNS-CMEDIA: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish India’s first dedicated research centre focused on the economics of transportation, mobility and logistics.
The new institution, titled the NHAI Centre for Economics of Transportation, Mobility and Logistics (ETML), will be housed at NCAER and has been established with a founding contribution from NHAI.
Focus on economic impact of infrastructure investments
The centre aims to study the broader economic and social impact of India’s rapidly expanding transportation infrastructure, including highways, logistics networks and multimodal transport systems.
According to the statement, the research centre will examine how investments in transport infrastructure influence economic growth, logistics efficiency, productivity, inclusion, accessibility and other developmental outcomes.
Over the past decade, India has undertaken one of the world’s largest highway construction programmes, significantly enhancing national connectivity and freight movement.
NHAI seeks stronger analytical foundation
NHAI Chairman Santosh Kumar Yadav said the authority’s role has evolved from merely building roads to managing a vast national infrastructure asset and integrating highways into India’s broader logistics ecosystem.
“As the programme scales further and deepens its integration with national logistics infrastructure, industrial corridors and multimodal networks, the quality of economic analysis underpinning our decisions must match the scale of our ambitions,” he said.
Yadav added that the research centre would help ensure that major decisions on infrastructure investments, asset management and policy reforms are based on rigorous evidence and analysis.
NCAER to lead independent research platform
NCAER Director General Suresh Goyal said the centre would serve as a permanent institution dedicated to applied research in transportation, mobility and logistics economics.
He noted that NCAER’s decades of policy-focused economic research and access to large datasets place it in a strong position to develop the centre into a key knowledge hub for policymakers and stakeholders.
“The research centre’s output will serve the entire ecosystem of decision-makers shaping India’s infrastructure future,” Goyal said.
Advisory committee to guide research agenda
The centre will be overseen by an Advisory Committee comprising leading economists, transport experts and public policy specialists.
Dr G. Raghuram, former Director of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, will chair the committee. NHAI’s Member (Finance) and the NCAER Director General will also be part of the panel.
The institution is expected to collaborate with national and international research organisations, industry stakeholders, infrastructure financiers and experts in transportation systems, logistics and public policy.
Wide-ranging research priorities
The research agenda will cover several critical areas, including integration of highways with industrial corridors and logistics hubs, toll policy reforms, technology adoption in highway operations, asset monetisation strategies and evaluation of contracting frameworks.
The centre will also assess the economic and social benefits of road safety measures and explore ways to improve efficiency across India’s transport and logistics networks.
Officials said the initiative is envisioned as a long-term national capability that will support evidence-based policymaking and strengthen India’s transportation and logistics ecosystem in the years ahead.
