13,065 km of state roads, highways upgraded to NHs, shows MoRTH data

Roads are the arteries through which the economy pulses. By linking producers to markets, workers to jobs, students to school, and the sick to hospitals, roads are vital to any development agenda.

According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, a total of 13,065 kilometre (km) of state roads and highways have been upgraded to national highways in the past three and a half years.

The ministry determines the declaration of state roads and state highways as national highways based on several conditions, including connectivity, priority, and the availability of funds.

In 2022–23, the government embarked on the construction of a 1,748 km-long frontier highway in Arunachal Pradesh to connect its West Kameng district in the west to the Changlang district in the east. Arunachal Pradesh shares borders with China, Myanmar, and Bhutan.

Other border states, such as Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Punjab, have also witnessed the conversion of several kilometres of state roads and highways into national highways in recent years.

In 2021–22, Uttar Pradesh saw the conversion of 414 km of state highways into national highways, incidentally during the time of the Assembly polls in March 2022.

Andhra Pradesh has experienced one of the highest rates of conversion of its roads into national highways.