India’s flagship highway development programme, Bharatmala Pariyojana, has made substantial progress, with over 21,700 km of roads constructed across the country as of December 2025, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) informed the Lok Sabha recently.Approved in 2017, the Bharatmala Pariyojana has an overall target of 34,800 km of highways aimed at strengthening connectivity and reducing logistics costs nationwide. Under Phase I, projects covering 26,425 km have been awarded, of which 21,783 km have already been completed, reflecting significant physical progress.The Ministry reported total expenditure of Rs 4.93 trillion on the programme till February last year. Between 2019 and 2025, a total of 236 projects covering 13,178 km were inaugurated across the country.In a separate reply, the Minister clarified that new project sanctions under Bharatmala Pariyojana have been discontinued, with future highway projects being approved at the corridor level under National Highways (Original) after clearance by the competent authority.The programme envisages development of around 26,000 km of Economic Corridors, which, along with the Golden Quadrilateral and North–South and East–West corridors, are expected to carry the bulk of road-based freight traffic. Additionally, about 8,000 km of Inter Corridors and 7,500 km of Feeder Routes have been identified to enhance corridor efficiency.Bharatmala also includes the development of ring roads, bypasses and elevated corridors to ease urban congestion and improve logistics efficiency. Ring roads have been identified in 28 cities, while 125 choke points and 66 congestion points have been earmarked for improvement.The government has targeted completion of all ongoing projects by the financial year 2027–28, with a focus on improving logistics efficiency and enhancing connectivity in tribal, aspirational and Left Wing Extremism-affected districts, while significantly reducing travel time between major economic centres across India.