Road Infrastructure in India

Government Initiatives

Some of the recent Government initiatives are as follows:

• The Union Cabinet has approved the Department of Rural Development’s proposal to implement Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana-IV (2024–29), with a total outlay of Rs. 70,125 crore (US$ 8.21 billion) for constructing 62,500 km of roads to connect 25,000 unconnected habitations and build or upgrade bridges on these routes.
• 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.