Roads are an important mode of transport in India. India has a network of over of roads This is the second-largest road network in the world, after the United States with . At () of roads per square kilometre of land, the quantitative density of India's road network is equal to that of Hong Kong, and substantially higher than the United States (), China (), Brazil () and Russia (). Adjusted for its large population, India has approximately of roads per 1,000 people, which is much lower than United States but higher than that of China . India's road network carries over 71 percent of its freight and about 85 percent of passenger traffic. Since the 1990s, major efforts have been underway to modernize the country's road infrastructure. As of 31 March 2020, 70.00% of Indian roads were paved. As of March 2020, India had completed and placed into use over of four or more lane highways connecting many of its major manufacturing, commercial and cultural centres. According to Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, as of March 2021, India had about of national highways and expressways, plus another of state highways. Major projects are being implemented under the Bharatmala, a government initiative. Private builders and highway operators are also implementing major projects. Organization The Indian road network is administered by various government authorities, given India's federal form of government. The following table shows the total length of India's road network by type of road and administering authority History The first evidence of road development in the Indian subcontinent can be traced back to approximately around 2800 BC in the ancient cities of Harrapa and Mohenjodaro of the Indus Valley civilization. Ruling emperors and monarchs of ancient and medieval India continued to construct roads to connect the cities. The existing Grand Trunk Road was re-built by the Mauryan Empire, and further rebuilt by subsequent entities such as the Sur Empire, the Mughal Empire and the British Empire. In the 1830s, the British East India Company started a programme of metalled road construction ( gravel road), for both commercial and administrative purposes. The Grand Trunk Road – from Calcutta, through Delhi to Peshawar – was rebuilt at a cost of £1,000 per mile; roads from Bombay to Pune, Bombay to Agra and Bombay to Madras were constructed; and a Public Works Department and the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee were founded,