The road transport and highways ministry (MoRTH) has received a big push with the Union Budget raising the allocation by 36 percent to around Rs 2.7 lakh crore for 2023-24.

This is nearly 36% jump over the Budgetary allocation of Rs 1.99 lakh crore made in the Budget for 2022-23.

Higher budgetary allocations shows the government commitment towards building Infrastructure for developed India by 2047. The increase in budget will help the ministry meet the 25,000-km road development target announced by the government in the 2022-23 Budget, amid rising interest expenses and increasing land acquisition costs.

Out of the total ₹2.7 lakh crore, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has been allocated around ₹1.62 lakh crore as part of MoRTH’s capital expenditure plan for 2023-24, a 21 percent increase compared to 2022-2023 allocation of ₹1.34 lakh crore.

The government had set a target of 13,000 km of highway construction in FY2022-23, but the speed of construction was affected by unfavourable weather conditions.

The road ministry is likely to complete the construction of 11,000 km of national highways in the current financial year.