National Highways Authority of India

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) was constituted by an Act of Parliament, the National Highways Authority of India Act, 1988. It is responsible for the development, maintenance and management of National Highways entrusted to it and/or matters connected or incidental thereto.

The National Highways Authority of India or NHAI (Hindi: भारतीय राष्ट्रीय राजमार्ग प्राधिकरण, romanized: Bhāratīya Rāṣṭrīya Rājmārg Prādhikaraṇ) is an autonomous agency of the Government of India, set up in 1995 (Act 1988) and is responsible for management of a road network of over 50,000 km of National Highways out of 1,32,499 km in India. It is a nodal agency of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH). NHAI has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for satellite mapping of highways.

History

The NHAI was created through the promulgation of the National Highways Authority of India Act, 1988. Section 16(1) of the Act states that the function of NHAI is to develop, maintain and manage the national highways and any other highways vested in, or entrusted to, it by the Government of India. On 10 February 1995, NHAI came into operations and was formally made an autonomous body. It is responsible for the development, maintenance and management of National Highways, totaling over 92,851.05 km (57,694.97 mi) in length. The NHAI is also responsible of the toll collection on several highways. Yogendra Narain was the first Chairman of NHAI in 1988. He is a retired IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre. In June 2022, the NHAI created a Guinness World record by building 75 km of highway between Amravati and Akola in Maharashtra in a span of just 5 days.