NEW DELHI: The Economic Survey 2025-26 tabled in Parliament on Thursday highlighted that India’s roads and highways sector is moving from rapid network expansion towards greater logistics efficiency and quality.
Sustained capital investment, expansion of high-speed corridors, multimodal integration under the PM GatiShakti programme and reforms in project delivery are strengthening capacity and reliability, and this infrastructure-led push is central for reducing logistics costs, easing congestion and improving connectivity, the Survey further stated.
The comprehensive annual document was presented by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
“Over the past decade, sustained investment and policy reforms have significantly expanded the National Highway (NH) network and improved construction pace, laying a stronger foundation for multimodal connectivity and economic integration,” the document read.
According to the Survey, in the financial year 2026, 10,000 km of construction is targeted, of which 4,938 km have been completed as of 31 December 2025.
Since 2014, the National Highway network expansion has recorded a 60 per cent increase from 91,287 km to 1.46 km till December.
To align freight speeds with global benchmarks, the High-Speed Corridor (HSC) network expanded from 550 km in 2014 to 5,364 km by December. The Survey said that a total network of approximately 26,000 km is targeted by FY33, with 9,366 km currently under implementation.
“Priority is accorded to highway projects linking ports, Inland Water Transport (IWT) terminals, and industrial corridors to lower logistics costs. A new policy for access-controlled ring roads and bypasses has been finalised for cities with populations over one lakh. This employs innovative cost-sharing models, such as land pooling and value capture, to transform urban centres into growth engines,” the Survey further stated.
The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) has achieved near-universal rural connectivity, with over 99.7 per cent of eligible habitations connected, as of 31 December 2025.
The programme has been strengthened through focused initiatives, including a dedicated road connectivity vertical under PM-JANMAN (Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan) to serve Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PTVGs), targeting 8,000 km of roads over the period 2023-28.
Till December 2025, 2,495 roads (7,323.96 km of road length) and 163 bridges have been sanctioned under PM-JANMAN for connecting 2,909 habitations, out of which 248 roads (1242.41 km of road length) have been completed.
