What is the target length for the development of a national highway network in India by 2025?

Correct option is B

The correct answer is (b) 2 lakh km

Explanation:

• The Government of India has set an ambitious target to develop a 2 lakh km national highway network by 2025 under its infrastructure development plan.
• This initiative is part of the Bharatmala Pariyojna, a comprehensive highway development program aimed at improving road connectivity across the country.
• The Bharatmala project focuses on enhancing the efficiency of freight and passenger movement through the development of economic corridors, inter-corridors, feeder routes, and border roads.
• The expansion of the national highway network is expected to significantly boost economic growth, facilitate smoother transportation, and improve connectivity between rural and urban areas.

Information Booster:

• As of 2024, the national highway network in India stands at over 146,000 km, with projections indicating it could reach approximately 155,000 km by the end of 2025-26.
• The Bharatmala Pariyojna is a centrally-sponsored and funded road and highways project of the Government of India, aiming to interconnect 550 district headquarters through a minimum 4-lane highway and move 80% of freight traffic to national highways by interconnecting logistics parks, inter-corridors, and feeder routes.
• The project also includes the development of tunnels, bridges, elevated corridors, flyovers, overpasses, interchanges, and bypasses to provide the shortest, jam-free, and optimized connectivity to multiple places.