Union Budget 2026: Pre-Budget Expectations for Highways, Roads and Mobility in India

India’s highways and mobility infrastructure remain a critical growth engine for logistics efficiency, urbanisation, and economic competitiveness. As expectations build around the Union Budget 2026, the focus must shift from only announcing new projects to delivering quality, completion, and long-term value across highways and road infrastructure.

This article outlines the key pre-budget expectations for highways, roads, and mobility, with an emphasis on capital efficiency, maintenance, procurement reform, and infrastructure financing.

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Higher Capital Expenditure for Highways and Roads in Budget 2026

The government should continue its strong capital expenditure push in the highways and mobility sector.

• Maintain capex outlay of approximately INR 2.8 lakh crore in FY26, with a higher allocation for road infrastructure.
• Ensure efficient deployment of capital to avoid project delays and cost overruns.
• Prioritise projects that deliver immediate logistics and travel-time benefits.

Sustained capex remains essential to support freight movement, regional connectivity, and economic expansion.

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Shift from Project Funding to Infrastructure Capability Building

Budget 2026 should move beyond funding physical assets to building execution capacity across the road construction ecosystem.

Key focus areas include:

• Training programmes linked directly to highway and road projects.
• Fiscal incentives for mechanisation and adoption of modern construction technologies.
• Encouraging shared infrastructure models such as equipment pooling and leasing organisations.
• Structured skilling initiatives for operations and maintenance (O&M) professionals.