Over 100 Aspirational Districts of India would undergo the construction of 5,795 km of National Highways (NHs) under a Rs one trillion programme, which is about to be unveiled. The Road Ministry has selected 221 projects for expansion. The 5,566-km of roadways are already under construction in those districts, for Rs 66,000 crore. The previous reports highlighted that since the financial year (FY) 2014-15, the National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI) debt increased 14 times to over Rs three trillion from Rs 24,188 crore at the end of January 2022. Particularly in FY22 and FY21, it borrowed nearly Rs 65,000 crore each. But reportedly, the Central Government now plans to reduce it by Rs one trillion by 2024-25. According to the data of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), all Aspirational Districts are already connected highways. The extension would enhance economic activity in these areas. In the last five years, more than 6,000 km NH has been constructed, which also connects ambitious districts. As per the ministry’s annual report, in the first nine months of FY 2021-22, 5,835-km national highways have been built. However, over the coming five years, the total length of the national highway network in these aspirational districts would grow to more than 18,000 km. NITI Ayog told the media that this programme mainly focuses on enhancing the ability of the people to participate fully in the burgeoning economy. NITI Ayog revealed that the selection process is based on the total progress made across 49 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), under five broad socio-economic themes- Education, Agriculture & Water Resources, Health & Nutrition, Financial Inclusion & Skill Development and Infrastructure. The performance and the delta-ranking of Aspirational Districts of every district are available on the Champions of Change Dashboard. However, as per the experts, for these districts, connection (through the national highway) would be a massive multiplier in bringing growth to those places and the nearly 250 million people who live there. Moreover, during the latest budget session, Nirmala Sitharaman, the Finance Minister, has set a target of increasing the country’s National Highways network by 25,000 km in 2022-2023, more than 12,000 km in the fiscal year 2022. Image Source Also read: NHAI to offer land along National Highways for realty development