The 68th round of National Sample Survey (2012) indicates that though the economic growth is pushing up income and consumption levels of the average Indian faster than before, income disparity is getting sharper, especially in rural India. Also, the share of food expenditure in household consumption has declined since 1993-1994, with a simultaneous decline in calorie intake.

Despite India’s big improvements, its human development index (HDI) score is ranked at 136 in a list of 186 countries, according to the United Nations Development Programme report, 2013. Meanwhile, a state-wise India Human Development Report (IDHR) by Institute of Applied Manpower Research, Planning Commission, Government of India, 2014, indicates that Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan remain at the bottom of the state-wise list.

The intra-regional trade among the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries is exceedingly low as compared to the European and South East Asian countries. According to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) report, ‘The South Asian Century: Progressing Towards Regional Integration - A Study’, 2014, there is a lot of untapped economic opportunity within South Asia while there is also high dependence on extra-regional trade and investment.

Inter-state comparisons of socio-economic development of select states based on available indicators from the recent Economic Survey of India show some interesting results.

An overview of the Indian transport industry, which comprises freight and passenger transportation, as well as warehousing and cold storage.

Transport companies and state transport corporations are unwilling to adopt alternatives to diesel, like the bio ethanol mix and CNG usage for mass transport.

The Indian railways have consistently lost out to roads as the preferred mode for goods and passenger movement across the country over the last few decades. The railways have failed to respond to the market demands. The roadblocks in the policies, infrastructure and carrying capacity constraints, lack of public sector investments, and lobby and political nexus in promoting the roadways has halted the growth of railways.

The roll-on roll-off service, which completed 15 years in 2014, is an innovative tie up between the road and rail sector. Also of interest is the dedicated freight corridors, a promising expansion plan by the railways.

Unscientific methods of toll collection is facing resistance by transporters in several Indian states. Technology usage can ensure transparency as well as better collection.