Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has highlighted the challenges faced by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in preparing the Detailed Project Report (DPR). He said some companies involved in the process are resistant to adopting new technology. During his address at the CRISIL India Infrastructure Conclave 2023, Gadkari stressed on the government's support for the implementation of innovative technologies in the infrastructure sector.

Additionally, he expressed concern over major players in the steel and cement industries engaging in cartelization practices to artificially inflate prices. Steel industry and cement industry. whenever they get a chance, they form cartels and increase prices, Gadkari said.

Nitin Gadkari also discussed the challenge of evaluation and rating of companies responsible for preparing DPR. He said that preparation of DPR is an important issue for NHAI, no project gets a flawless DPR. He attributed this to reluctance to adopt new technologies, innovations or research by the companies involved in preparing the DPR. Furthermore, he said the quality standards for DPRs are often inadequate, resulting in the need for additional scope of work in various projects.

Finally, Gadkari addressed the high logistics costs in India, saying that logistics expenses in India range from 14% to 16%, while in China, they are much lower at 8% to 10%. This discrepancy underlines the need for more efficient logistics management in India.