The paper makes an attempt to delineate regional patterns in commodity flows in India at present and in the foreseeable future. There is heavy concentration of traffic in the north and some concentration in the extreme south of the country, with an east-west grain. The traffic is heaviest nearer the metropolitan centres.
The commodity flows will be larger in the coming years but smaller in relation to the growth in national income, which may lead to a reduction in the proportion of transport investments. Reference is made to the likely emergence of a larger number of smaller regions in India with no vital dependence on any single metropolitan centre as at present. The commodity-mix of the commodity flows in future will change in favour of manufactured goods. This may lead to greater competition between rail and road transport.
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