NHAI and NCAER Join Hands to Launch India's First Independent Transportation Research Centre

In a significant step toward strengthening India's road and transport policy framework, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) on Tuesday. The agreement paves the way for establishing what will be India's first permanent and independent research centre dedicated entirely to the economics of transportation, mobility, and logistics.

The new centre will be housed within NCAER and is designed to function as a focused platform for applied economic research. Its primary mandate is to generate actionable insights that can directly inform long-term planning, infrastructure investment decisions, and policy formulation across India's road and transport sector.

The research agenda is expected to span a broad range of critical thematic areas.

These include National Highway economics, freight logistics, modal integration, the regional economic impact of highway investments, toll pricing policy, asset monetization strategies, road safety interventions, and the adoption of emerging technologies in highway operations and maintenance.

Governance of the centre will be anchored by a high-level Advisory Committee bringing together leading economists, transportation specialists, public policy experts, and distinguished academicians. NHAI's Member of Finance and the Director General of NCAER will also serve on this committee, ensuring close coordination between the research body and the institutions it is meant to serve.

The centre has been established with seed funding from NHAI, while NCAER has committed to mobilising additional contributions from allied institutions and sector partners to sustain and expand its work over time.

The initiative reflects a growing recognition within India's infrastructure ecosystem that evidence-based research must underpin major transport investments and regulatory decisions. By institutionalising this research capability, both NHAI and NCAER aim to build a knowledge base that can guide smarter, more resilient choices in the years ahead.