India’s road network has rapidly expanded over the past 11 years to become the world’s second-largest, boasting national highways stretching 1,46,560 km across the country. In the last five years alone, the government has built 57,125 km of National Highways, averaging 34,215 lane-km annually, leading to the generation of about 33 crore person-days of employment.
This growth, fueled by initiatives like Bharatmala, has resulted in a 61% increase in the National Highway network from 91,287 km in 2014 to 1,46,560 km in 2025. Moreover, the length of operational access-controlled High-Speed Corridors and Expressways has surged from 93 km in 2014 to 3,052 km by the end of 2025.
The total length of 4-lane and above National Highways, including access-controlled corridors, has more than doubled from 18,371 km in 2014 to 43,512 km presently. Budgetary allocations for India’s National Highways have soared by over 500% in the last decade, escalating from around Rs 31,130 crore in 2013-14 to over Rs 2.7 lakh crore in 2023-24, further increasing to Rs 3.09 lakh crore in the 2026-27 Budget.
