Engineers partner with India’s Government to boost rural roads

Vice-Chancellor Sir David Eastwood signed and agreement with representatives from the Ministry of Rural Development - University of Birmingham civil engineering experts will work with India's Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) to create a hi-tech monitoring system that will allow transport chiefs to respond to damage and deterioration on the country's rural roads. Farmers and people living in rural communities will benefit from the Birmingham experts working with their Indian partners, as they evaluate technologies and standards for the construction and maintenance of rural roads. As well as helping Government transport bosses at the National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (NRIDA) to meet the targets of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Gram Sadak Yojana programme II and III, the British engineers will provide MoRD with mechanisms that allow automated analysis of rural road condition. A team of University experts led by Dr Michael Burrow and Dr Gurmel Ghataora will work with one of MoRD's Rural Connectivity and Training Centres to set up a Global Centre of Excellence in Rural Roads. The initiative will bring together leading research groups and practitioners, initially from India and the UK, with the aim of developing a global reach. Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir David Eastwood signed a range of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with MoRD at a special signing ceremony in Delhi. The agreement forms a key part of the University's strategic vision to continue building meaningful education and research partnerships in India.