Highways deserve a digital upgrade

India’s highways are in the middle of a transformation that is far deeper than a jump in construction numbers or the unveiling of new expressways. A quiet but deliberate digital shift is turning these corridors into data-rich, service-oriented, and increasingly intelligent public assets. What was once a purely civil engineering endeavour is now a multi-layered ecosystem touching finance, safety, planning, commuter services and sustainability. The change is visible on the ground, but more importantly, it is embedded in the way highways are now governed.

The scale of the network itself explains why this shift has become unavoidable. According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), India’s road network has crossed 63 lakh kilometres, making it the second largest in the world. Within this, national highways stretch over 1.46 lakh kilometres as of March 2025, up roughly 60 per cent from 91,287 kilometres in 2013–14. This expansion of more than 54,000 kilometres in just over a decade is a feat the government frequently highlights, and rightly so. But building more roads has also made it necessary to build smarter systems to run them.

The most visible and politically consequential aspect of this transformation is digital tolling. FASTag, the RFID-based toll payment system operating under the National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) architecture developed by NPCI, is now close to universal. Government data show penetration at around 98 per cent and user numbers above eight crore. This level of adoption has effectively moved India away from a cash-heavy, leakage-prone tolling regime to one built on interoperability, transparency and predictability.

Policy has pushed the trend further. The FASTag Annual Pass introduced in August 2025 offers non-commercial vehicles 200 toll crossings or a full year of access for a one-time fee of Rs 3,000. A PIB release dated 15 October 2025 stated that the scheme crossed 25 lakh users and logged more than 5.6 crore transactions within two months. Whether it eventually reduces congestion or simply shifts payment behaviour remains to be seen, but its early reception suggests commuters value predictability.

Tolling reform now extends into deterrence. Amendments to the National Highways Fee Rules, due to take effect from 15 November 2025, will charge cash users twice the regular toll and UPI users 1.25 times the standard fee. The government’s intention is clear: move India towards a fully digital tolling ecosystem. Critics worry about digital exclusions and payment disputes, but as a behavioural nudge, the policy signals the direction India intends to take.

What may prove even more consequential is India’s first Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) tolling pilot launched at Choryasi plaza on NH-48 in Gujarat. This barrier-free setup, which uses high-speed cameras and RFID readers to charge vehicles without stopping, marks the beginning of what could eventually be a plaza-less tolling era. Several countries have adopted MLFF with mixed challenges around enforcement, but if India navigates those concerns, the gains in time, emissions and efficiency could be substantial.

Digital transformation is also altering the commuter experience. The Rajmargyatra app, launched by NHAI as a citizen-facing platform, has grown rapidly. Government data show more than 15 lakh downloads and a peak ranking of 23rd overall and 2nd in the travel category on the Google Play Store in November 2025. Rankings fluctuate, but the adoption signals user appetite for real-time information on amenities, toll plazas, weather and charging stations. Importantly, the app includes a geo-tagged complaint system that lets users upload photos of potholes, damaged signage or safety hazards and track redressal. For a sector long criticised for opacity, this creates a rare, structured feedback loop.

The internal machinery behind highways is changing too. The NHAI One app, rolled out as an operational backbone, integrates attendance tracking, highway maintenance logs, road safety audits, toilet monitoring and daily construction audits through time-stamped and geo-tagged entries. As reported in official notes, this is aimed at closing field-level gaps that often delay projects or distort reporting. Whether the tool will lead to durable improvements depends on compliance and supervision, but the move nudges the system towards accountability rather than paperwork.

Perhaps the most ambitious shift is occurring at the planning stage. The PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, with its GIS-powered portal hosting more than 550 layers of live data, has become the government’s central platform for infrastructure mapping. According to MoRTH, the entire 1.46 lakh-km national highway network has been uploaded and validated on this platform. Independent verification is limited, but if the claim holds, India now has a digital atlas with the potential to reduce duplication, accelerate clearances and ensure that future alignments pass with minimal disruption through environmental and social terrain. Planning roads with this level of spatial intelligence marks a break from the scattershot, file-based system that dominated earlier decades.

Safety, long the weakest link in India’s road story, is slowly being addressed through technology. Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS) are now deployed on major expressways like the Delhi–Meerut, Trans-Haryana and Eastern Peripheral Expressways. Government data tabled in mid-2024 showed a drop in fatalities on the Bengaluru–Mysuru corridor after ATMS installation, indicating that real-time detection and enforcement can shift outcomes. ATMS is now a mandatory component of new high-speed corridors and increasingly retrofitted on older ones. Combined with QR-coded Project Information Boards that provide details, helplines and nearby amenities, and a planned rollout of Network Survey Vehicles across 23 states to assess 20,900 km of roads, a more transparent and data-backed safety regime is emerging.

There is an environmental layer to this transition too. Under the Green Highways Mission, NHAI reports planting more than 4.69 crore saplings since 2015, including 56 lakh in 2023–24 and 67.47 lakh in 2024–25. Plantation figures often attract scepticism over survival rates, but the scale of effort is notable. More promising is the push toward circular construction: NHAI’s Sustainability Report 2023–24 notes the use of more than 631 lakh metric tonnes of recycled materials like fly ash, plastic waste and reclaimed asphalt in road building. Similarly, under Mission Amrit Sarovar, the authority claims to have revived 467 water bodies, yielding 2.4 crore cubic metres of soil reused for construction and an estimated Rs 16,690 crore in cost savings. These figures come from government estimates, not independent audits, but they point toward a broader shift in how road construction materials are sourced and reused.

What stands out across these reforms is the steady merging of physical networks with digital governance. Highways are no longer just transit routes: they are sensors, payment systems, service platforms and data sources. This is an evolution worth embracing, though it requires conscious safeguards. Digital tolling must not disadvantage users without reliable connectivity. App-based grievance systems must resolve complaints, not simply record them. Data collection must be paired with privacy norms. And MLFF must be accompanied by a robust enforcement back-end that protects both commuters and the public exchequer. 

India’s highways are entering a new mobility moment. The foundations are being laid for a network that is smarter, safer and more sustainable. But the real test is not technological adoption; it is whether governance, capacity and accountability can keep pace. If they do, every kilometre built will carry not just vehicles but a wider public confidence that India’s infrastructure is finally learning, adapting and delivering in real time.

The author comments on issues relating to housing, infrastructure, and social equity.