NEW DELHI: National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) to establish a research centre on transportation, mobility and logistics.The centre, to be set up at the NCAER, will be India’s first permanent and independent research centre dedicated to the economics of transportation, mobility and logistics, an official statement said.The Centre will serve as a dedicated platform for undertaking applied economic research on transportation, mobility and logistics, with a focus on generating actionable insights to support long-term planning, investment and policy formulation in the road and transport sector.It will undertake policy-relevant research across a wide range of thematic areas, including National Highway economics, freight logistics, modal integration, regional economic impacts of National Highway investments, toll policy, asset monetization, road safety interventions, technology adoption in National Highway operations and maintenance.The Centre will be anchored by an Advisory Committee comprising leading economists, transportation specialists, public policy experts and eminent academicians, along with NHAI’s Member (Finance) and the Director General, NCAER.The statement said the centre is founded with a contribution from NHAI, with NCAER committed to mobilising contributions from other allied institutions and partners.