Engaging India is an online column analysing the issues, trends and forces behind the business and politics shaping India and its impact on the world. Engaging India appears Thursday mornings exclusively on FT.com India, a dedicated online section on India, and is written by Jo Johnson, the Financial Times’ South Asia bureau chief; Amy Yee, New Delhi correspondent; and Joe Leahy, Mumbai correspondent.

Many had come to believe that they would never see this day. More than two years behind schedule, the expressway linking New Delhi to its airport and to Gurgaon, a fast-growing satellite city teeming with malls and call centres, has opened at last. The 27.7km highway, the busiest inter-city route in India, will halve the journey time to the airport and slash perhaps 40 minutes off the nightmarish ride out to Gurgaon. A modest achievement by east Asian standards, it is real progress for India.