Overview: India’s transportation infrastructure has undergone tremendous change since independence. While traditional, non-mechanized transport means are still quite common (elephants and camels are not an uncommon sight even in large urban areas), roads, railroads, ports, and aviation continue to expand. India now has the world’s second largest road network, and its rail network is among the most used in the world for passengers and freight. Furthermore, increasing incomes and government liberalization measures have contributed to tremendous growth in the numbers of automobiles, two- and three-wheeled vehicles, private and public buses, and urban rail networks. However, there are significant, accompanying problems with pollution, increasing traffic density, unauthorized transportation providers, and high numbers of traffic fatalities.

Roads: There were about 3.3 million kilometers of roads by 2002, of which 1.4 million kilometers were surfaced and more than 1 million kilometers were covered with gravel, crushed stone, or earth. More than 150 highways are rated as national highways and carry about 40 percent of road traffic on a total length of 65,569 kilometers. Around 85 percent of all passenger traffic and 70 percent of all freight traffic travel by road. By 2007, highways are expected to expand by 13,146 kilometers, with road projects aimed at linking the country’s major cities and spanning the entire country north-south and east-west. Modes of road transport are a mix of traditional and modern means. Urban transit is dominated by motor vehicles, with increasing use of automobiles, minibuses, buses, trucks, and particularly two- and three-wheeled vehicles. However, bullocks, camels, elephants, and other beasts of burden are seen on Indian roads, even in urban areas.

Railroads: All railroads are government-owned and operated by Indian Railways. In 2002 total route length was 63,028 kilometers, and double and multiple tracks resulted in a total track length of 108,706 kilometers. Of the total track length, 86,526 kilometers were 1.676-millimeter gauge, 18,529 kilometers were 1.000-millimeter gauge, and 3,651 kilometers were 0.762- and 0.610-millimeter gauge. About 16,000 kilometers were electrified, mostly 1.676 millimeter gauge. The rail system includes 7,566 locomotives, 37,840 coaches, 222,147 freight wagons, 6,853 stations, and nearly 116,000 bridges. Both passenger and freight carriage continue to expand annually, and the rail system is the fourth most heavily used in the world, both for passengers and freight. For the financial year 2004, Indian Railways carried 557 million freight tons and more than 5 billion passengers. There are some high-speed routes and increasing use of them. Most rolling stock and other components are still domestically produced, but they are increasingly manufactured through commercial agreements with foreign companies. There have been major government investments in modernization since the early 1990s, but Indian Railways has also experienced dwindling government budgetary support and has suffered from the dual role of being both a public utility and a commercial enterprise.

India also has several urban passenger rail systems. Kolkata (Calcutta) has a full metro system, and New Delhi’s metro system is operational and expanding. Chennai has a rapid transit system, and there are suburban rail networks in Bangalore, Mumbai (Bombay), and New Delhi. There are plans for metro, light rail, or both in Bangalore, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Mumbai, and Pune.

Ports: India has 12 major ports and 185 minor and intermediate ports along the country’s coastline. There are also 7 shipyards under the control of the central government, 2 shipyards controlled by state governments, and 19 privately owned shipyards. The major ports handled 344.6 million tons of cargo for the financial year 2004, with Chennai, Kandla, and Vishakhapatnam carrying the greatest tonnage. Major ports can collectively handle 390 million tons of cargo annually, and port operations have improved since the mid-1990s. All major ports, except one (Ennore), are government administered, but private-sector participation in ports has increased. In 2000 there were 102 shipping companies operating in India, of which five were privately owned and based in India and one was owned by the government (Shipping Corporation of India). In 2000 there were 639 government-owned ships, including 91 oil tankers, 79 dry cargo bulk carriers, and 10 cellular container vessels. Indian-flagged vessels carried about 15 percent of overseas cargo at Indian ports for financial year 2003.

Inland and Coastal Waterways: According to official sources, India has approximately 14,500 kilometers of inland waterways, but the transportation potential is vastly underused. More than 3,600 kilometers are navigable by large vessels, although only about 2,000 kilometers are used. For purposes of navigational development and conservation, three inland waterways have been declared national waterways: the Allahabad-Haldia portion of the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly rivers (1,620 kilometers), the Sadiya-Dhubri section of the Brahmaputra River (891 kilometers), and a combination of western canals (205 kilometers).

Civil Aviation and Airports: The government owns two airlines (Air India and Indian Airlines) and one helicopter service (Pawan Hans), and there are twelve privately owned airlines. Private airlines account for about 45 percent of domestic air traffic, and as of 2003 the government had divested more than 50 percent of the equity in both government-owned airlines. Of 288 airports, 208 have permanent-surface runways, and there are two runways of more than 3,659 meters. The Airports Authority of India administers 126 airports: 11 international, 89 domestic, and 26 for defense purposes. In 2003 these airports collectively handled approximately 500,000 flights, 40 million passengers, and 900,000 tons of cargo. Major international airports are located in Kolkata (Calcutta), Madras (Chennai), Mumbai (Bombay), New Delhi, and Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum). There is also international service from Bangalore, Guwahati, Hyderabad, and Mamargao, and there are major regional airports at Ahmadabad, Allahabad, Chandigarh, Kochi (Cochin), Nagpur, Pune, Srinagar, and Thiruvananthapuram.

Pipelines: In 2003 India had an estimated 5,798 kilometers of gas pipelines, 1,195 kilometers for liquid petroleum gas, 5,613 kilometers for oil, and 5,567 kilometers for refined products. India and Iran have discussed constructing a gas pipeline, but the Indian government and oil industry analysts have expressed concerns about the pipeline’s security because of its proposed route through conflict-prone areas of Pakistan.

Telecommunications: India is witnessing possibly its greatest period of change in communications, with increasing shifts from government to private providers and greater public use of various technologies. From 1995 to 2003, the number of Internet users increased from 250,000 to 18.4 million. Since the late 1990s, the number of telephones, mobile phones, and personal computers has increased substantially. In 2004 there were 40.9 million telephones and 26.2 million mobile phones, and in 2003 there were an estimated 7.5 million personal computers. Some basic telephone services were opened to private-sector competition in 1994, and portions of state-owned telecommunications services have been purchased by private entities. Government-owned radio (All India Radio) and television (Doordarshan) networks have extensive national and local coverage, but domestic and international private television networks are increasingly prolific through cable and satellite. According to government figures, there were 79.4 million television households in 2001. From 1991 to 2002, the number of radios roughly doubled to an estimated 111 million, and radio remains the main source of news for most Indians.

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This series of profiles of foreign nations is part of the Country Studies Program, formerly the Army Area Handbook Program. The profiles offer brief, summarized information on a country’s historical background, geography, society, economy, transportation and telecommunications, government and politics, and national security. In addition to being featured in the front matter of published Country Studies, they are now being prepared as stand-alone reference aides for all countries in the series, as well as for a number of additional countries of interest. The profiles offer reasonably current country information independent of the existence of a recently published Country Study and will be updated annually or more frequently as events warrant.