Highways in India, Explore India's National Highways | IBEF
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Advantage India
Robust
Demand
* In FY25 (Until December), the total passenger vehicle sales reached 31,39,288.
* As of January 2024, the total length of National Highways in the country was 146,145 km.
* In FY24, 4.2 million units of passenger vehicles were sold compared to over 3.8 million units sold in the same period last year.
Attractive
Opportunities
* Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Mr. Nitin Gadkari has unveiled over 200 projects totaling Rs 1.25 lakh crore (US$ 14.97 billion) earmarked for the next five years under the National Ropeways Development Programme known as "Parvatmala Pariyojana".
* A network of 35 Multimodal Logistics Parks are planned to be developed as part of Bharatmala Pariyojana, with a total investment of about Rs. 46,000 crore (US$ 5.55 billion), which can handle around 700 MMT of cargo.
Higher
Investments
* Growing participation of PPP.
* NHAI will come out with the third and fourth rounds of Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) to raise over Rs. 20,000 crore (US$ 2.41 billion) in FY24.
* Under the Union Budget 2025-26, the government has allocated Rs. 2,87,333.3 crore (US$ 33.07 billion) to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, reflecting a modest increase of 2.41% compared to the FY25.
Policy
Support
* 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is allowed under the automatic route in the road and highways sector.
* As on December 2023, the Bhoomi Rashi Portal had incorporated 1467 projects of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
Last updated: Apr, 2025
Introduction
India has the second-largest road network in the world, spanning a total of ~6.7 million kilometres (kms). This road network transports 64.5% of all goods in the country and 90% of India’s total passenger traffic uses road network to commute. Road transportation has gradually increased over the years with improvement in connectivity between cities, towns and villages in the country.
In India, sale of automobiles and movement of freight by roads is growing at a rapid rate.
Market size
The government has established a provisional target of constructing 10,421 km of national highways in FY25, reflecting a 15% decrease from last year's achievement due to delays in state clearances caused by the extended election process.
National highway construction in India increased at 9.3% CAGR between FY16-FY24. In FY24 approximately 12,349 km of National Highways have been constructed. Despite pandemic and lockdown, India has constructed 10,457 km of highways in FY22. In FY23, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways constructed national highways extending 10,331 kms. Under the Union Budget 2024-25, the Government of India has allocated Rs. 2.72 lakh crore (US$ 32.68 billion) to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) spent a record-breaking Rs. 2,07,000 crore (US$ 24.79 billion) on the construction of national highways in the fiscal year 2023-24. This was the highest capital expenditure ever recorded, representing a 20% increase from last year.
India's road network has grown 59% to become the second largest in the world in the last ten years.
As of December 2024, India has a total of 146,195 kilometres of National Highway and 2,474 National high-speed corridors.
In FY24 approximately 12,300 kilometres of National Highways were constructed.
A total of 202 national highway projects worth Rs. 79,789 crore (US$ 9.59 billion) are at the implementation stage in the country and are 6,270 km in length.
In FY25 (up to December), the Ministry of Road Transport and National Highways awarded a total length of 3,100 kms.
Ceigall India has been awarded for the development of a 25.24 km, six-lane greenfield bypass in southern Ludhiana, a key component of the Ludhiana-Ajmer economic corridor, to be implemented under the hybrid annuity model (HAM) in Punjab.
FDI inflows in construction development stood at Rs. 2,50,628 crore (US$ 35.24 billion) between April 2000-September 2024.
As of February 2025, there were 826 roads projects PPP out of 1825 total projects in India.
Key Investments/Developments
National Highways Infra Trust (NHIT) raised Rs. 16,000 crore (US$ 1.92 billion) in InvIT round-3, stretches aggregate length of 889 kilometres of national highways, marking the largest transaction by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
The Union Minister of State for Road, Transport and Highways has stated that the Government aims to boost corporate investment in roads and shipping sector, along with introducing business-friendly strategies, which will balance profitability with effective project execution. According to the data released by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade Policy (DPIIT), FDI inflows in In a significant effort to enhance infrastructure, the Union government approved eight national high-speed corridor projects, involving the construction of 936 kilometers of highways at a total cost of Rs. 50,655 crore (US$ 6.09 billion). Private investments in the highway sector would likely rise from around Rs. 20,000 crore (US$ 2.40 billion) a year now to nearly Rs. 1 trillion (US$ 12 billion) in the next 6-7 years, Mr. Amit Kumar Ghosh, additional secretary, ministry of road transport and highways, said.
In October 2023, rating agency Crisil said that the assets under management (AUM) for infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) in India's road sector will nearly double by March 2025 from the current Rs. 1.4 trillion (US$ 17 billion).
Government Initiatives
Some of the recent Government initiatives are as follows:
Under the Union Budget 2025-26, the government has allocated Rs. 2,87,333.3 crore (US$ 33.07 billion) to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, reflecting a modest increase of 2.41% compared to the FY25.
In the Union Budget 2025-26, the government proposed to increase allocation for capital expenditure to Rs. 11.21 lakh crore (US$ 129.0 billion), up 10.1% from revised budget estimate of Rs. 10.18 lakh crore (US$ 117.2 billion) in FY25.
In January 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Mr. Narendra Modi took a significant step to enhance India's metro network by launching several development projects worth over Rs. 12,200 crore (US$ 1.43 billion) in Delhi.
In a significant effort to enhance infrastructure, the Union government approved eight national high-speed corridor projects, involving the construction of 936 kilometers of highways at a total cost of Rs. 50,655 crore (US$ 6.09 billion).
Investment in road connectivity projects including Patna-Purnea expressway, Buxar-Bhagalpur highway and an additional two-lane bridge over the Ganga in Buxar for Rs. 26,000 crore (US$ 3.11 billion) along with a new 2,400 MW power plant at Pirpainti costing Rs. 21,400 crore (US$ 2.56 billion).
In March 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for 112 national highway projects across various states, with a total worth of approximately US$ 12.04 billion (Rs. 1 lakh crore).
The government has enlisted a consultant to advise on adopting new technologies like GNSS for barrier-free tolling. GNSS-based Electronic Toll Collection will be piloted alongside FAS Tag on select National Highways.
Bharat New Car Assessment Program launched for safety rating of passenger cars and empowering consumers to take informed decisions.
In August 2023, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) made a big step towards improving the highway user experience, with the introduction of 'Rajmargyatra,' a citizen-centric unified mobile application. This user-friendly app provides travellers with in-depth knowledge of Indian National Highways as well as an effective procedure for filing complaints.
In July 2023, Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi dedicated a six-lane greenfield motorway part of the Amritsar-Jamnagar Economic Corridor and the first phase of the Inter-State Transmission Line for Green Energy Corridor.
Increasing the pace of development of Uttar Pradesh, the Union Minister for Road, Transport and Highways, Mr. Nitin Gadkari inaugurated two National Highway projects with an investment of more than Rs. 3,300 crore (US$ 396.8 million) in Lucknow on July 17, 2023.
In June 2023, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) introduced a ‘Knowledge Sharing’ platform for sharing of knowledge and innovative best practices. This effort, which is hosted on the NHAI website, will assist the authority in working with specialists and citizens who want to exchange knowledge and views about subjects including road design, construction, road safety, environmental sustainability, and related sectors. The platform will promote the exchange of best practices from all around the world and work to strengthen the nation's national highway system.
NHAI will come out with the third and fourth rounds of Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) to raise over Rs. 20,000 crore (US$ 2.41 billion) in FY24.
NHAI is planning to award 1,000-1,500 km of projects under the BOT model in 2023-24.
As of December 19, 2023, a total of 749,639 km of road length has been constructed under PMGSY.
India’s Gati Shakti program has consolidated a list of 81 high impact projects, out of which road infrastructure projects were the top priority. The major highway projects include the Delhi-Mumbai expressway (1,350 kilometres), Amritsar-Jamnagar expressway (1,257 kilometres) and Saharanpur-Dehradun expressway (210 kilometres). The main aim of this program is a faster approval process which can be done through the Gati shakti portal and digitized the approval process completely.
As of March 2022, the government plans to spend Rs. 10,565 crore (US$ 1.38 billion) on the Trans-Arunachal Highway and Kaladan Multi-Model Transport Project, as well as other roads development projects such as capital connectivity, district connectivity, connectivity to the international border, and improvement and strengthening of roads in the region of Sikkim.
The Indian government launched Gati Shakti-National Master Plan, which will help lead a holistic and integrated development of infrastructure generating immense employment opportunities in the country.
Road Ahead
The Government, through a series of initiatives, is working on policies to attract significant investor interest. A total of 600+ sites are planned to be awarded by 2024-25 of which 144 Wayside Amenities (WSAs) have already been awarded. In the next five years, National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) will be able to generate Rs. 1 lakh crore (US$ 14.30 billion) annually from toll and other sources.
References: Media Reports, Press Releases, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, NHAI website, Press Information Bureau (PIB), Union Budget 2025-26
Note: Conversion rate used for January 2025 is Rs. 1 = US$ 0.012
Notes: ^FDI in construction development Includes: Townships, housing, built-up infrastructure and construction-development projects