Global Connectivity: Trade, Transport, and Tech Impact

The world today has been converted into a global village. This has been achieved through efficient systems of trade, transport and communication. With the development in science and technology, the area of influence of trade and transport expanded far and wide. The trade or the exchange of commodities relies on transportation and communication. 

Classification of Roads in India: Roads are classified into 6 major categories

• Golden Quadrilateral Super Highways: Connecting Cities for Efficiency
  • The government launched a major road development project, linking Delhi-Kolkata-Chennai-Mumbai by six lane Super Highways.
  • The North-South Corridor linking Srinagar (Jammu & Kashmir) and Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu), and
  • East-West Corridor connecting Silcher (Assam) and Porbandar (Gujarat) are part of this project.
  • The major objective of these Super Highways is to reduce the time and distance between the mega cities of India. 
  • These highway projects are being implemented by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). 
    • NHAI was operationalised in 1995. 
    • It is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH). 

• National Highways: These Roads in India are meant for inter-state transport and movement of defence men and material in strategic areas.
  • The main Roads in India which are constructed and maintained by the Central Government are known as the National Highways. 
  • National Roads in India link extreme parts of the country. These are the primary road systems. 
  • A number of major National Roads in India run in North-South and East-West directions. 
  • The length of the National Roads in India has increased from 19,700 km in 1951 to 1,44,634 km in 2022 (PIB, 2023). 
  • They constitute only about 2 percent of the total road length but carry 40 percent of the road traffic. 
• State Highways: They join the state capitals with district headquarters and other important towns.
  • These are constructed and maintained by state governments. 
  • These constitute 4 percent of total road length in the country. 
• District Roads: These roads are the connecting link between District Headquarters and the other important nodes in the district. 
  • These roads are maintained by the Zila Parishad.
  • They account for 14 percent of the total road length of the country. These Roads in India connect the district headquarters with other places of the district.

• Rural Roads: These roads are vital for providing links in the rural areas. 
  • About 80 percent of the total road length in India are categorised as rural roads.
  • These roads received special impetus under the Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana. 
  • Under this scheme, special provisions are made so that every village in the country is linked to a major town in the country by an all season motorable road.
• Other Roads in India: Other Roads in India include Border Roads and International Highways. 
  • Border Roads: Roads laid along international boundaries are called border roads. 
    • They play an important role in integrating people in remote areas with major cities and providing defence. 
    • They are developed and maintained by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO). 
  • International Highways: These are meant to promote the harmonious relationship with the neighbouring countries by providing effective links with India. 

Table: India Road Network 2022 (Source: MoRTH annual report 2022)

Highways: Connecting Continents for Efficient Travel    

• They are metalled Roads in India connecting distant places, constructed for unobstructed vehicular movement. 
  • These Roads in India are mostly 80 m wide, with separate traffic lanes, bridges, flyovers and dual carriageways to facilitate uninterrupted traffic flow.

• North America: The Trans-Canadian Highway links Vancouver in British Columbia(west coast) to St. John’s City in Newfoundland (east coast) and the Alaskan Highway links Edmonton (Canada) to Anchorage (Alaska).
• The Trans-Continental Stuart Highway:  It connects Darwin (north coast) and Melbourne via Tennant Creek and Alice Springs in Australia.
• Europe: It has a large number of vehicles and a well-developed highway network.
  • But highways face a lot of competition from railways and waterways.
  • Due to the vast geographical area, highways in Russia are not as important as railways. 
• China: The highways criss-cross the country connecting all major cities such as Tsungtso (near Vietnam boundary), Shanghai (central China), Guangzhou (south) and Beijing (north).
• In India: There are many Roads in India linking the major towns and cities. 
  • The Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) or Super Expressway are examples .
• In Africa:  A highway joins Algiers in the north to Conakry in Guinea. 
  • Similarly, Cairo is also connected to Cape Town through Roads in India and highways.

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