The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) to establish the NHAI Centre for Economics of Transportation, Mobility and Logistics at NCAER.
The new centre represents India’s first permanent and independent research institution dedicated to the economics of transportation, mobility and logistics, marking a significant step towards evidence-based policymaking in the road transport sector.
The centre has been founded with a founding contribution from NHAI, with NCAER committed to mobilising contributions from other allied institutions and partners.
The MoU was signed at the NHAI headquarters in the presence of NHAI Chairman Santosh Kumar Yadav, NCAER Director General and senior officials from both organisations.
Yadav stated that the partnership would create a dedicated platform for high-quality research and policy analysis, helping strengthen planning and investment decisions in the transportation sector.
The centre will conduct studies on areas including national highway economics, freight logistics, modal integration, regional economic impacts of highway investments, toll policy, asset monetisation, road safety and technology adoption in highway operations and maintenance.
Research findings will be made available to support long-term planning, investment decisions and policy formulation.
The centre will be anchored by an Advisory Committee comprising leading economists, transportation specialists, public policy experts and eminent academicians, along with NHAI’s Member (Finance) and the Director General, NCAER.
A Steering Committee constituted by NHAI will oversee research priorities, review outputs and facilitate alignment with the authority’s policy and operational requirements.
NHAI will support the establishment and operation of the centre for a period of 10 years, contributing to the development of a robust national highway network through informed policymaking.
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