Share of rural roads in total spends likely to fall further, shows data

A lower proportion of money spent on building India’s roads is going towards constructing rural ones.

The share is likely to slip below 5 per cent in the coming years, according to rating agency CRISIL’s projections, which are based on Interim Budget documents, and have been shared with Business Standard. Provisional numbers suggest a 6.45 per cent share in financial year 2023-24 (FY24). It is likely to fall to 4.5 per cent by FY26.

Both National Highways and state roads have been allocated a significantly higher amount of money. National Highways spends are up 434 per cent since FY14 to Rs 1.7 trillion in the provisional figures for FY24.