NHAI to collaborate with IITs, other institutes for improving highway infrastructure.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has said it will partner with institutes like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) for improving the road infrastructure ecosystem. The objective is to leverage the intellectual prudence of students and faculty towards the improvement of the road infrastructure ecosystem of the country.
NHAI said in their statement said that in its endeavor to provide world-class National Highways (NH) network, NHAI has approached all IITs, National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and reputed engineering colleges to collaborate and adopt nearby stretches of NH, on a voluntary basis, as part of Institutional Social Responsibility (ISR).
NHAI further inferred that the institutes along with its faculty and students have a better appreciation of local requirement, topography, resource potential, among others, and these vital inputs can be utilized by NHAI during different stages of pre-construction, construction and operation of NH stretch, it said.
It further added, this decentralized approach, besides building a sense of participation in decision making, also provides an opportunity to the students for hands-on-learning, option for internship, and future areas of research.
Besides, the adoption of stretch by institutes opens avenues for access to important data, which can be used to improve the quality and safety aspects of NH and enhance local capacity of institutes in terms of advanced lab and simulation systems.
It also added that the adoption of NH stretch by an institute would facilitate stakeholder engagement and help to mitigate the routine local problems such as traffic movement, congestion, and immediate identification of accident-prone sites.
The highway users become more empowered in resolving local problems through the institute and the Authority, it said, adding that such instances would help NHAI in understanding the local needs both in the present and future projects, improve maintenance and riding comfort, and develop wayside amenities for enhanced user experience.
The overall outcome shall be a commuter-friendly and enjoyable ride on the NHAI stretch.NHAI said.
The statement also said a large number of IITs, NITs, and engineering colleges have opted to join the scheme and NHAI officers have started mutual consultation with directors of the interested Institutes.
Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) are being signed between the individual institutes and NHAI for institutionalization of the scheme and bring reformative improvements in the road infrastructure of the country.
Current Issue
02-2026
