Ministry
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) is the Union ministry that builds, funds and regulates India's national highway network and administers motor-vehicle and road-transport law nationwide. It sets highway standards, routes central capital into road construction, and oversees the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the statutory body that develops and finances most of the network. Through the National Highways Act and the Motor Vehicles Act it holds the levers over how India's roads are built, tolled and policed.
Updated
- Headquarters
- Transport Bhawan, 1 Parliament Street, New Delhi
- Budget (2025-26)
- ~Rs 2.87 lakh crore (approx. Rs 2,873 billion)
- National highway network
- ~146,000 km (as of Aug 2025)
- Construction pace (FY25)
- ~29 km/day (10,660 km built)
Role
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is the apex Union body for road transport, national highways and transport research. It works through two wings: a Roads Wing that plans, develops and maintains National Highways and sets the engineering standards for roads and bridges, and a Transport Wing that administers motor-vehicle legislation, vehicle registration and licensing, compulsory insurance, road-safety norms and the national compilation of accident data. Its statutory reach runs through the National Highways Act, 1956 and the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, which together give it authority over how highways are declared, built and tolled and how vehicles and drivers are regulated across every state.
The ministry does most of its building through arms-length bodies rather than directly. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), a statutory authority operational since February 1995, develops and finances the bulk of the network; the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL) handles roads in border and hill regions; and vehicles such as the Indian Highways Management Company (tolling systems) and the National Highways Infra Trust (asset monetisation) sit under the same umbrella. This makes MoRTH a central seat of infrastructure power: it directs one of the largest annual capital allocations in the Union budget, and its standards and tolling decisions shape freight costs and mobility for the whole economy.
Desk maintained by IndiaStand editorial cycles. Officeholders are transient; this dossier tracks the institution.
Timeline since 1947
- reference
Department of War Transport created
The lineage of the present ministry begins with the July 1942 Department of War Transport, formed by splitting the Department of Communications.
- reference
National Highways Act enacted
The Act vested national highways in the Union and became the statutory basis for declaring, developing and tolling them.
- reference
NHAI Act and Motor Vehicles Act passed
Parliament created the National Highways Authority of India and enacted the consolidated Motor Vehicles Act, the ministry's two core statutes.
- reference
NHAI becomes operational
The National Highways Authority of India began functioning as an autonomous statutory body under the ministry's administrative control.
- reference
MoRTH takes its present form
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways emerged as a standalone ministry when the combined Shipping, Road Transport and Highways ministry was bifurcated.
- reference
Bharatmala Pariyojana approved
The Union Cabinet approved Bharatmala Phase I, targeting about 34,800 km of highways including economic corridors and greenfield expressways.
- gdelt
Network passes ~146,000 km; FASTag Annual Pass launched
The national highway network stood at roughly 146,000 km after 10,660 km were built in FY25, and a FASTag Annual Pass for private vehicles went live on 15 August 2025.
Frequently asked
- What is Ministry of Road Transport and Highways?
- The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) is the Union ministry that builds, funds and regulates India's national highway network and administers motor-vehicle and road-transport law nationwide. It sets highway standards, routes central capital into road construction, and oversees the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the statutory body that develops and finances most of the network. Through the National Highways Act and the Motor Vehicles Act it holds the levers over how India's roads are built, tolled and policed.
- When was Ministry of Road Transport and Highways established?
- Ministry of Road Transport and Highways was established 2009.
- What does Ministry of Road Transport and Highways do?
- Its remit covers Planning, development and maintenance of National Highways, Setting engineering standards for roads and bridges, Administration of the National Highways Act, 1956 and highway tolling policy, Administration of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (licensing, registration, road safety, insurance), Oversight of NHAI, NHIDCL and highway public-sector undertakings, Compilation of national road-accident statistics and road-safety policy.
- What is the latest on Ministry of Road Transport and Highways?
- As of 2026-07-06: Network passes ~146,000 km; FASTag Annual Pass launched. The national highway network stood at roughly 146,000 km after 10,660 km were built in FY25, and a FASTag Annual Pass for private vehicles went live on 15 August 2025.