'Better than anywhere in the world': Paytm's Vijay Shekhar Sharma gives thumbs up to Delhi-Mumbai Expressway

Last month, India celebrated the inauguration of the first stage of its longest expressway, the New Delhi-Mumbai Expressway. This ambitious $13 billion (Rs 1,00,000 crore) project aims to cut the travel time between the country's two biggest cities in half, to just 12 hours. 

The project has even received attention from Paytm's CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma. Sharma, who is known for his entrepreneurial spirit and innovative ideas, has praised the project for its potential to boost economic growth and create job opportunities.

Sharma tweeted, “What a feeling! You have to come here believe it. Way better than anywhere in world #IncredibleIndia"

The Delhi–Mumbai Expressway is a 1,350 km long, 8-lane wide (expandable to 12-lane) project. The entire Expressway is expected to be opened by next year.

It is set to establish a vital transportation link between Sohna Elevated Corridor in Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Maharashtra.

The expressway's route will traverse the Union territory of Delhi (spanning 12 km) and the states of Haryana (covering 129 km), Rajasthan (covering 373 km), Madhya Pradesh (covering 244 km), Gujarat (covering 426 km), and Maharashtra (covering 171 km). 

The primary stretch of the expressway spans 1,198 km from Sohna to Virar, while it also features two additional spurs - DND-Faridabad-KMP (covering 59 km) and Virar-JNPT (covering 92 km) - which extend its total length to 1,350 km.

India’s infrastructure play

As India continues to make a concerted effort to catch up with its geopolitical rival, China, this massive infrastructure project is just one part of a larger push to modernize and upgrade the country's infrastructure.

In recent years, the Indian government has expedited the construction of many key projects, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration has announced an unprecedented 33 per cent increase in infrastructure spending this month alone. 

Also read: 'Human-level performance': ChatGPT creator OpenAI releases smarter, faster GPT-4 AI

In the coming months, Modi is expected to open at least a dozen major railways, highways, expressways, and port projects as part of India's wider infrastructure push.

India remains optimistic about its ability to catch up to China's infrastructure prowess, viewing itself as a "geopolitical sweet spot" due to its strategic location between the Middle East, Europe, and Southeast Asia.

Also read: Elon Musk's next move? Building his own city and becoming a landlord to Tesla and SpaceX employees

Watch | Meet Ravi Chaudhary: The first Indian-origin Assistant Secretary of US Air Force