‘Roads, transport, logistics key to $1tn UP economy’

Varanasi: Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, successfully hosted the MargShakti conclave 2025 on Nov 21, bringing together leading experts from govt, academia and industry to deliberate on India's future mobility and infrastructure roadmap.While addressing the inaugural session of the conclave, advisor to the UP chief minister Awanish Kumar Awasthi stressed the pivotal role of roads and highways, public transport and logistics—the three pillars of the conclave theme—in propelling India's economic growth. He emphasised that these sectors form the foundation of the UP $ 1 trillion economy vision, as efficient connectivity directly accelerates industrial expansion, investment flow, employment generation and balanced regional development.Awasthi further underlined the essential role of premier institutions like IIT (BHU) in nation-building, highlighting that academic excellence, innovation-driven research and skilled human capital are critical for infrastructure modernisation. He noted that the synergy between academia, govt and industry is fundamental to creating sustainable, resilient and future-ready mobility networks, which will shape India's developmental trajectory toward Viksit Bharat 2047.The conclave also featured insightful contributions from eminent leaders, including Prof Manoj Choudhary, vice-chancellor; GSV Rahul Gupta, secretary-general, IRC and ADG (tunnels), MoRTH; and Pankaj Saxena, former director (project planning), DFCCIL. Coordinated by Dr Agnivesh Pani and Prof Ankit Gupta from the department of civil engineering, the conclave focused on aligning national transportation strategies with the long-term vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.