Union Minister for Transport Nitin Gadkari said that construction of roads is progressing at the pace of 23 km per day. Speaking at Textiles India 2017, the minister said that the transport ministry is ready for innovations and use of new materials that improves quality of Indian roads and increasing its longevity but it should be affordable and practical. He added that while there is no dearth of funds or manpower in the government, there is a lack of willingness to take decision in government sector. The ministry has set up a committee chaired by an IIT Bombay professor who would approve innovations which can be used for road, bridge and tunnel constructions. The person will not need any other certification.The ministry will mainly focus the North-east, Uttarakhand and Himalayas for the projects.