India’s highways have grown at a staggering pace—expanding by over **61% in just a decade** to become the **second-largest network in the world** . That’s a monumental achievement worth celebrating. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: size alone won’t cut it in 2026 and beyond.
As the Union Budget 2026 looms, the focus must shift from mere kilometers laid to **how** those roads are built, funded, and maintained. The sector now demands a new kind of ambition: one centered on **access-controlled expressways**, **digital integration**, **environmental sustainability**, and—most critically—**execution efficiency**. Without these, even the most generous Budget 2026 highways allocation could stall on paper.
Table of Contents
- The State of India’s Highway Network
- What Budget 2026 Highways Must Prioritize
- Funding the Future: The National Infrastructure Trust
- Why PPPs Are Key to Scaling Smartly
- The Hidden Bottleneck: Approvals and Land Acquisition
- Conclusion: Building Roads for Tomorrow, Not Yesterday
- Sources
The State of India’s Highway Network
Let’s be clear: India has done the heavy lifting on scale. From 91,000 km of national highways in 2014, we’ve surged past **147,000 km** today . Projects like the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and the upcoming Bengaluru-Chennai corridor are engineering marvels that promise to slash travel times and boost logistics efficiency.
But quantity has exposed quality gaps. Many newly built roads suffer from poor maintenance, lack of safety features, or inadequate last-mile connectivity. And while rural road coverage has improved under PMGSY, the **national highway system**—the backbone of freight and inter-city travel—needs a strategic upgrade, not just expansion.
Budget 2026 highways: What Must Be Prioritized
The next phase of India’s road revolution can’t just be about laying asphalt. Budget 2026 must embed three core pillars into its highway strategy:
- Access-Controlled Expressways: These high-speed corridors with limited entry/exit points are essential for safe, efficient long-distance travel. Only 2,500 km of such roads exist today—far short of the 20,000+ km needed by 2030 .
- Technology Integration: From AI-powered traffic monitoring to IoT-enabled pavement sensors, smart highways can predict wear, manage congestion, and reduce accidents. This requires dedicated R&D funding in the budget.
- Sustainability Mandates: Every new project should include green bridges for wildlife, solar-powered lighting, recycled construction materials, and carbon footprint assessments. The Ministry of Road Transport has already issued guidelines—now they need enforcement and budgetary backing .
Funding the Future: The National Infrastructure Trust
One of the most promising developments is the proposed **National Infrastructure Trust (NIT)**—a sovereign wealth-style vehicle designed to attract long-term domestic and global capital into core sectors like highways .
Unlike traditional annual budget allocations, the NIT would provide **patient capital**, reducing reliance on short-term fiscal cycles. It could also bundle completed, revenue-generating highway assets into monetizable portfolios, freeing up funds for new greenfield projects—a model successfully used in countries like Canada and Australia .
Budget 2026 must allocate seed capital to launch the NIT and create a clear regulatory framework to build investor confidence.
Why PPPs Are Key to Scaling Smartly
Public funds alone can’t meet India’s $1.3 trillion infrastructure gap by 2030 . That’s where **public-private partnerships (PPPs)** come in. But past PPP models—like BOT (Toll)—have struggled with traffic risk and financing.
The way forward? Hybrid models like **Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM)** and **Toll-Operate-Transfer (TOT)** need refinement. Budget 2026 should:
- Incentivize private players with viability gap funding (VGF) for projects in low-traffic regions.
- Streamline dispute resolution mechanisms to protect both public and private interests.
- Introduce performance-based annuity payments tied to road quality and user satisfaction—not just completion.
As [INTERNAL_LINK:infrastructure-investment-india] shows, well-structured PPPs can accelerate delivery while sharing risk equitably.
The Hidden Bottleneck: Approvals and Land Acquisition
Here’s the harsh reality: even with perfect funding and design, **projects stall**. Why? Because securing environmental clearances, forest permits, and land acquisition can take **3–5 years**—longer than the actual construction phase .
Budget 2026 must go beyond financial outlays and address this systemic drag. Recommendations include:
- Creating a **single-window clearance portal** for all central and state-level highway approvals.
- Empowering the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) with greater authority to fast-track land acquisition under the Right to Fair Compensation Act.
- Digitizing land records nationwide to eliminate title disputes—a move already underway but needing urgent acceleration.
Without this, every rupee spent risks being trapped in bureaucratic limbo.
Conclusion: Building Roads for Tomorrow, Not Yesterday
India’s highway story is no longer about how many kilometers we build—it’s about **how intelligently, sustainably, and efficiently** we build them. Budget 2026 highways must be more than a line item; it must be a strategic blueprint for a modern, resilient, and future-ready transportation ecosystem. With the right mix of innovative financing (like the National Infrastructure Trust), reformed PPPs, and ruthless execution discipline, India can turn its road network from a symbol of scale into a benchmark of excellence.
Sources
- Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH). (2025). National Highways Dashboard.
- Economic Times. (2025, December). Govt plans National Infrastructure Trust to fund roads, rails.
- NITI Aayog. (2024). Roadmap for Access-Controlled Highways in India.
- World Bank. (2023). India Development Update: Overcoming Infrastructure Bottlenecks. https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/india/publication/india-development-update [[4], [9]]
- MoRTH. (2022). Guidelines for Green Highways.
- Times of India. (2026, January). Budget 2026: Increased expenditure, clear roadmap & more — here’s what highways need.