N
ational highway development has witnessed major progress across different verticals. The speed and scale of development have been brisk. In 2025-26, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) constructed around 5,313 km, surpassing its target by 15 per cent. Alongside, there has been a growing focus on safety, asset quality and sustainability. The sector is now at the forefront of asset monetisation efforts. In recent issues of the NHAI newsletter Rajmaarg, Santosh Kumar Yadav, Chairman, NHAI, highlighted the progress in road construction, the initiatives being taken for improving the commuter experience, the efforts to increase the adoption of advanced technology and the wide-scale implementation of sustainable practices. Edited excerpts…
As we begin the new financial year, I am proud to share that during 2025-26, NHAI has achieved many milestones that contributed towards the robust development of the national highway (NH) network. During the year, NHAI constructed 5,313 km of national highways, surpassing the target by nearly 15 per cent. The capex stood at Rs 2,443 billion, which includes government budgetary support and NHAI’s own resources.
Achieving a major milestone in electronic toll collection, NHAI launched multi-lane free flow tolling at the Chorayasi Toll Plaza on the Surat-Bharuch section of NH-48 in Gujarat. As the national highway infrastructure expands, barrier-less tolling has become essential to enhance commuter comfort. No waiting time at toll plazas leads to savings of time and fuel, lower logistics costs, and improved transparency and efficiency across the national highway tolling ecosystem.
Improving highway connectivity and commuter experience
As we continue our journey of building world-class national highways, we remain committed to enhancing the “ease of living” and commuting experience of national highway users. The centre recently inaugurated two milestone projects to help decongest the Delhi-National Capital Region. The inauguration of the Delhi section of the Dwarka Expressway and Urban Extension Road II (UER-II) will enhance seamless interstate travel by connecting three major national highways around Delhi. While UER-II is envisioned as Delhi’s third ring road, the Dwarka Expressway will benefit millions of commuters travelling daily between Delhi and Gurugram. Another initiative that will go a long way in easing travel on national highways was launched on August 15, 2025. I am happy to share that the FASTag annual pass has received an overwhelming response from national highway users. Around 1,000,000 annual passes were purchased within the first 10 days, and national highway users are happy that they are getting SMSs for zero deduction of toll fee. The initiative has also received an overwhelming response from commuters, crossing over 4,000,000 users within the first four months of launch, reflecting the growing acceptance of this pathbreaking digital and user-centric solution.
Enhancing the travel experience of national highway users also remained a key priority in 2025. Over the past year, the Rajmargyatra app was launched, which has crossed 1,500,000 downloads and has become the most downloaded app in Apple App Store’s travel category and among the top five apps on Android Play Store’s travel category. Moving forward, our focus continues to be on creating national highways that not only connect destinations, but also make travelling more efficient, comfortable and safer for all.
NHAI has also achieved a remarkable feat by creating four Guinness World Records on the under-implementation Bengaluru-Kadapa-Vijayawada economic corridor (NH-544G). This stands as a testament to the engineering excellence, innovation and execution capability of our teams and partners, and reflects the high standards that NHAI continues to set in infrastructure development.
During 2025, while the expansion of the national highway network continued, equal emphasis was placed on enhancing quality and strengthening maintenance practices. In response to the evolving dynamics of national highway infrastructure development, NHAI has continued to innovate and leverage new technologies, ensuring that we remain aligned with emerging needs and global best practices. A strong focus during 2025 was on translating digital innovation into measurable on-ground outcomes. The accelerated deployment of the drone analytics monitoring system and network survey vehicles has strengthened project monitoring and maintenance. At the same time, the roll-out of project information signboards equipped with QR codes across national highway stretches has enhanced transparency, enabling commuters to access real-time, project-related information with ease.
Progress under asset monetisation
NHAI has released its first-ever asset monetisation strategy for the road sector. The strategy presents a structured framework providing a robust blueprint to mobilise capital through the toll-operate-transfer (TOT), infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) and securitisation models. The unique approach that NHAI has adopted towards asset monetisation not only ensures financial sustainability but also opens opportunities for the private sector to leverage advanced technologies and enhance the quality and longevity of our road assets. The successful implementation of this strategy will provide NHAI with a steady stream of financing, reducing the reliance on traditional funding sources. During the past couple of months, NHAI has taken proactive steps to mitigate the challenges posed by the monsoon season. It also held a meeting with senior officials of the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority to strengthen interagency coordination to effectively address waterlogging issues along national highways in Gurugram.
In tandem, during 2025-26, NHAI made notable progress, realising over Rs 280 billion through the public and private InvIT and the TOT model, underscoring the growing confidence of investors in the road sector.
NHAI also achieved a significant milestone with the Securities and Exchange Board of India granting approval to the NHAI-sponsored Raajmarg Infra Investment Trust (RIIT) as an InvIT. Marking a new chapter in infrastructure financing, the maiden public issue of the NHAI-sponsored RIIT received an overwhelming investor response and was successfully listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The InvIT has also received a AAA (stable) rating from CARE Ratings Limited, making it one of the most secure investment options available to investors. This development marks an important step towards expanding public participation in national highway infrastructure growth and advancing NHAI’s asset monetisation objectives.
Mapping sustainable initiatives
Development of national highway infrastructure is important for the socio-economic development of the country, but at the same time it is imperative for the development to be sustainable. NHAI has been actively working towards mitigating the impact of national highway development on the environment by building green highways. Realising its vision of maximising plantations along national highways, NHAI exceeded its annual target of planting 6,000,000 trees in 2024, planting around 6,700,000 trees across the country. In 2025, under the Ek Ped Maa ke Naam 2.0 initiative, various plantation drives have been organised by NHAI field offices and a target of planting 5,200,000 trees has been set.
Advancing its sustainability efforts, NHAI has taken the initiative to develop “Arogya Van”, featuring thematic medicinal tree plantations on vacant land parcels along national highways. The initiative aims to enrich biodiversity along national highways by introducing medicinal tree species that support pollinators, birds and microfauna, thereby strengthening ecosystem resilience. As we move forward, I reiterate NHAI’s commitment to building world-class infrastructure that not only accelerates economic growth but also contributes meaningfully to sustainable and inclusive nation building.
Further accelerating these efforts, in a recent landmark moment, the centre inaugurated the prestigious Delhi-Dehradun economic corridor. This world-class corridor is set to transform regional connectivity, stimulate economic growth and promote tourism across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Notably, the project also stands as a benchmark for sustainable and inclusive infrastructure development in ecologically sensitive regions. Featuring one of Asia’s largest wildlife elevated corridors as well as underpasses designed to accommodate even the largest mammals, the corridor reflects NHAI’s commitment to sustainable development. A recent study conducted in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India documented over 40,000 instances of wildlife movement across 18 species through these structures, providing strong evidence of effective wildlife mitigation.
All in all, sustainable development continues to be an integral part of NHAI’s philosophy, reinforcing green cover and advancing our commitment to environmentally responsible infrastructure development. The initiatives in 2025 were guided by a simple yet enduring principle: national highways must not only be built efficiently, but also operated, maintained and experienced as safe, green and user-friendly corridors.
Looking ahead
As we reflect on the year gone by, 2025 stands out as a year where we undertook a wide range of initiatives aimed at building a holistic, resilient and future-ready national highway network – one that supports economic growth while serving the needs of commuters across the country.
Strengthening the future of the sector remains a key priority. To this end, NHAI, in association with the Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Education, has launched the NHAI Internship Program, a pioneering initiative aimed at nurturing young talent and fostering stronger industry-academia engagement. At the same time, we are preparing to initiate a structured skill development and capacity-building programme for workers engaged in national highway construction. As the scale and complexity of the national highway network continue to grow, enhancing the capabilities of the workforce will be critical for maintaining the highest standards of quality, safety and maintenance.
Lastly, as we move ahead in developing the national highway infrastructure, I would like to reiterate our commitment to building an ecologically sustainable framework. With this objective, I am sure that together with our stakeholders we will significantly contribute towards protecting the environment and realising the vision of saturating national highways with green cover.
“NHAI’s initiatives are guided by a simple yet enduring principle: national highways must not only be built efficiently, but also operated, maintained and experienced as safe, green and user-friendly corridors.”
