Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
India, set to become the fastest growing car sales market in the world, bowed to the inevitable when the government indicated it would raise the country's speed limits for the first time since 1989.
The change, from a top speed of 80kph to 100kph, has been spurred on by a roads revolution in India, the centre-piece of which is the 5,840km Golden Quadrilateral highway, which is the largest infrastructure project undertaken since gaining independence in 1947.
The $8bn expressways form a diamond linking Delhi with Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, and mark the beginning of more than $70bn worth of road projects.
The new highways have created an unprecedented demand for mobility, in terms of faster cars and faster roads.
The motoring lobby says that the new higher speeds are a welcome "expansion of freedom in a over-regulated country".
"It was absurd that we have speed limits of 60kph on many expressways. I mean you cannot get a decent car into fifth gear with speeds that low," said Murad Ali Baig, a motoring columnist.
Baig said the new limit would have been impossible a decade ago because the average Indian car was not safe to drive at such speeds: "The modern cars sold in India have seat belts, most meet global crash test norms and we will see anti-lock braking systems being made mandatory pretty soon."
With the arrival of smooth wide roads, annual car sales are expected to nearly double over the next five years, to 2.3m in 2012, surpassing China as the fastest growing auto market.
