**Executive Summary**
Union Minister Shri Nitin Gadkari announced on February 9, 2026, that sustained infrastructure investment and reforms have reduced India's logistics costs. He highlighted Maharashtra's increased financial assistance from the Centre and discussed various infrastructure projects, including high-speed rail and metro developments, specifically noting budget estimates for 2025-26 and 2026-27. There were no deadlines or action items listed.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Logistics Cost Reduction:**
* Infrastructure investment and reforms have significantly reduced India's logistics costs.
* The government aims to bring logistics costs below 10% of GDP through PPP reforms, private investment, green technologies, and faster project execution.
* Reforms have already delivered a 5-6 percentage-point reduction in logistics costs.
* **Union Budget Impact:**
* The Union Budget's capital expenditure of ₹12.20 lakh crore, focused on roads, railways, and shipping, would boost economic growth and competitiveness.
* The proposed Infrastructure Risk Guarantee Fund would strengthen BOT and PPP models by enhancing investor confidence.
* **High-Speed Rail:**
* The government has proposed seven new high-speed rail corridors.
* India's first high-speed rail project, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor, is currently under construction.
* **Maharashtra Infrastructure Support:**
* Financial assistance from the Centre to Maharashtra has increased significantly.
* Budget Estimates for 2026–27 include a provision of ₹89,855.80 crore for tax devolution to Maharashtra.
* Budget Estimates for 2025–26 allocate ₹50,511 crore as grants-in-aid to Maharashtra.
* Between 2014 and 2026, Maharashtra received ₹5.83 lakh crore through tax devolution and ₹3.66 lakh crore in the form of grants.
* **Nagpur Metro and Rail Projects:**
* Work on Nagpur Metro Phase 2 is in its final stage.
* Approval has been granted for the preparation of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for Nagpur Metro Phase 3, and work is expected to commence shortly.
* Railway projects worth ₹1.70 lakh crore are currently underway in Maharashtra, including 41 new railway projects covering 5,877 km and costing ₹81,580 crore.
* Redevelopment work is underway at 128 railway stations in Maharashtra under the Amrit Bharat Scheme.
**Impact Analysis**
**Stakeholder: Indian Economy**
* **Impact:** Reduced logistics costs and increased infrastructure investment will likely strengthen economic growth and global competitiveness.
* **Action Required:** No direct action required, but continued support for infrastructure development and reform is implied.
**Stakeholder: Maharashtra State Government**
* **Impact:** Increased financial assistance from the Centre will enable greater investment in infrastructure projects.
* **Action Required:** Effective utilization of allocated funds to further infrastructure development.
**Stakeholder: Investors (BOT and PPP Models)**
* **Impact:** Infrastructure Risk Guarantee Fund would strengthen BOT and PPP models by enhancing investor confidence.
* **Action Required:** Review revised/improved BOT and PPP models.
**Stakeholder: Citizens of Maharashtra**
* **Impact:** Improvements to public transport (Mumbai Metro and rail projects)
* **Action Required:** Stay aware of the upcoming changes to public transport and regional rail developments.
Key Entities Referenced
Nitin Gadkari: Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, driving infrastructure development and reforms to reduce logistics costs in India.
Maharashtra: State receiving a major budget boost for metro and rail projects, a significant focus for infrastructure development.
Infrastructure Risk Guarantee Fund: Proposed fund to strengthen BOT and PPP models, enhancing investor confidence in infrastructure projects.
Amrit Bharat Scheme: Scheme under which 128 railway stations in Maharashtra are undergoing redevelopment.
Nagpur Metro: Ongoing metro project in Nagpur, with Phase 2 in its final stage and Phase 3 expansion planned.
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways
Infrastructure Push Brings Down India’s Logistics
Cost : Union Minister Shri. Nitin Gadkari
Maharashtra Gets Major Budget Boost; Metro and Rail
Projects Gather Pace
Posted On: 09 FEB 2026 4:05PM by PIB Mumbai
Nagpur : 9 February 2026
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari on Monday said
sustained infrastructure investment and structural reforms have significantly
reduced India’s logistics costs, strengthening economic growth and global
competitiveness.
Addressing a press conference on the General Budget in Nagpur, Shri Gadkari said
logistics costs are crucial for import–export performance. While developed
economies operate with logistics costs of around 8–9 per cent of GDP, nearly 8 per
cent in China and about 12 per cent in European countries—India’s logistics cost
earlier stood at 14–16 per cent and has been steadily declining.
The Government aims to bring logistics costs below 10 per cent of GDP through PPP
reforms, increased private investment, green technologies and faster project
execution, he said. Citing a study by IIM Bengaluru, IIT Chennai and IIT Kanpur,Gadkari noted that infrastructure-led reforms have already delivered a 5–6
percentage-point reduction, bringing costs closer to the 9–10 per cent range.
He said the Union Budget’s capital expenditure of ₹12.20 lakh crore, focused on
roads, railways and shipping, would boost economic growth, competitiveness and
employment. The proposed Infrastructure Risk Guarantee Fund, he added, would
strengthen BOT and PPP models by enhancing investor confidence.
High-Speed Rail Expansion
The Government has proposed seven new high-speed rail corridors, including
Mumbai–Pune, Pune–Hyderabad, Hyderabad–Bengaluru, Hyderabad–Chennai,
Chennai–Bengaluru, Delhi–Varanasi and Varanasi–Siliguri. India’s first high-speed
rail project, the Mumbai–Ahmedabad corridor, is currently under construction.
Maharashtra Gets Major Budget Support
Highlighting Maharashtra’s share in national infrastructure development,
Shri Gadkari said financial assistance from the Centre to the state has increased
significantly. As per the Budget Estimates for 2026–27, a provision of ₹89,855.80
crore has been made towards tax devolution to Maharashtra. In the Budget
Estimates for 2025–26, ₹50,511 crore has been allocated as grants-in-aid.
Between 2014 and 2026, Maharashtra has received ₹5.83 lakh crore through tax
devolution and ₹3.66 lakh crore in the form of grants, he added.
Nagpur Metro and Rail Projects
The Minister said work on Nagpur Metro Phase 2 is in its final stage. Under Nagpur
Metro Phase 3, proposed corridors include Sitabuldi to Koradi (11.5 km), Butibori
MIDC to Khapri, Nagpur Satellite City (3 km) and the Inner Ring Road (15 km).
Approval has been granted for the preparation of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs),
and work on these projects is expected to commence shortly.
He further said that railway projects worth ₹1.70 lakh crore are currently underway
in Maharashtra. A total of 41 new railway projects, covering 5,877 km and costing
₹81,580 crore, are in progress.
Under the Amrit Bharat Scheme, redevelopment work is underway at 128 railway
stations in Maharashtra, including several in the Vidarbha region such as Nagpur,
Ajni, Akola, Amravati, Badnera, Gondia, Hinganghat, Wardha and Washim.
Shri Gadkari expressed confidence that sustained investment in connectivity,
logistics efficiency and multimodal infrastructure would deliver long-term economic
benefits for both Maharashtra and the country as a whole.
PIB Nagpur | Saurabh Khekde / Priti Malandkar
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