Pune, June 23 -- Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, on Monday emphasised the government's strong financial standing and the urgent need to accelerate infrastructure project execution.

Speaking at the Punyabhushan Award ceremony in Pune, he also took aim at the lack of out-of-the-box thinking within the administration.

"There is no shortage of funds. I often make announcements worth Rs 1 lakh crore to Rs 50,000 crore. People especially journalists find it hard to believe such figures. I tell them to write down every word, and if even one project doesn't happen, they can run it as breaking news. But today, the problem isn't funding it's the lack of speed in execution," Gadkari said.

He explained that innovativ...