Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Monday urged management professionals to develop financing models to bring economic viability, efficiency and investment in the infrastructure sector.\

Gadkari, while inaugurating a week-long programme virtually on 'Infrastructure Sector in the Indian Economy and the Financing Challenge', said the union government was giving a lot of importance to innovation, research and technology for shaping the future of the infrastructure sector in the country.

Addressing the event organised by the Indian Institute of Management-Kozhikode (IIM-K), Gadkari said the focus was on reducing the cost of construction while improving quality.

"Management professionals should analyse and develop innovative revenue generation as well as financing models to bring economic viability, efficiency and investment in the infrastructure sector. We are giving a lot of importance to innovation, research and technology for shaping the future of the infrastructure sector," he said.

Stating that road infrastructure plays a critical role in the growth of the Indian economy, he said that about 70 per cent of goods and 90 per cent of passenger traffic are transported by road.

As far as the infrastructure sector is concerned, he said, the union government, with the help of private-public investment, would increase the pace of development. "Our top priority is to bring the logistics cost to single digit of GDP from the current 13 to 14 per cent. Infrastructure development makes our business and products globally competitive and boosts exports."

He added that the most important challenge to the Indian economy was to develop agriculture and the rural and tribal economy.?

"We have 120 aspirant districts which are socially, economically and educationally backward where we need more concentration," he said.

The week-long programme was designed on the request of the Ministry of Finance to primarily meet the needs of public sector officials working or intending to work in the infrastructure space or dealing with the sector in the context of the latest initiatives of the GOI, such as the Asset Monetisation Programme, PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, REITS & InvITs, Regulatory frameworks, including ESG, IIM-K said.