By Enersider Desk | New Delhi
Despite thrust on infrastructure in the budget speeches over the last few years, the allocation to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has remained flat.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has allocated Rs 1.87 lakh crore to NHAI in Budget 2026-27, up from Rs 1.7 lakh crore in 2025-26.
“This provision is for Development of National Highways, including projects relating to expressways and greenfield access controlled corridors. The expenditure is met from Permanent Bridge Fee Fund, Monetization of National Highways Fund, Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) and budgetary support,” the Budget document said.
The overall allocation to the highways sector is Rs 3.09 lakh crore for 2026-27, about 8 per cent higher from the outlay of Rs 2.87 lakh crore for the current financial year (2025-26).
According to reports, NHAI is planning to reduce its debt to below Rs 2 lakh crore in the current financial year ending March.
In the year 2026-27, FM has increased the public capital expenditure on the infrastructure sector to Rs 12.2 lakh crore.
However, in the last few budgets the allocation to NHAI has not seen a sharp rise and has mostly remained flat.
The total outlay for NHAI for the financial year 2020-21 was Rs 1.07 lakh crore from Rs 1.11 lakh crore in 2019-20.
In the financial year 2024-25, the budgetary allocation for NHAI was Rs 1.68 lakh crore, up from Rs 1.67 lakh crore in the previous fiscal.
In her Budget speech Sitharaman said, “Public capex has increased manifold from ₹2 lakh crore in FY2014-15 to an allocation of ₹11.2 lakh crore in BE 2025-26. In FY2026-27, I propose to increase it to ₹12.2 lakh crore to continue the momentum.”
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said, “The Union Budget 2026 places infrastructure at the heart of India’s journey towards Viksit Bharat 2047. With a clear focus on connectivity, manufacturing depth, and regional balance, the Budget outlines a decisive push to build world-class, future-ready infrastructure.”
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