National Highways (NH) are one of the significant sources of inter-state movements and transportation of passengers and goods. National and state capitals, major ports, rail junctions are all connected by the National Highways. The total length of National Highways as of March 2019, is 132499 Kms. Constituting only 2 percent of the road network, National Highways carry about 40 percent traffic. The article will provide you with a list of major national highways in India as it will help aspirants for the IAS Exam (Prelims, Mains.)

List of Important National Highways in India

The list of major highways in India with their routes is given below:

Highway	Route
NH 1	Delhi-Ambala-Jalandhar-Amritsar-Indo-Pak Border
NH 1A	Jalandhar-Madhopur-Jammu-Banihal-Srinagar-Baramula-Uri
NH 1B	Batote-Doda-Kishtwar-Sinthan pass – Khanabal
NH 1C	Domel to Katra
NH 1D	Srinagar-Kargil-Leh
NH 2	Delhi-Mathura-Agra-Kanpur-Allahabad-Varanasi-Mohania-Barhi Palsit-Baidyabati-Bara-Calcutta
NH 2A	Sikandra to Bhognipur
NH 2B	Burdwan – Bolpur road (via Talit, Guskara and Bhedia)
NH 3	Agra-Gwalior-Shivpuri-Indore-Dhule-Nasik-Thane-Mumbai
NH 4	Junction with National Highways No. 3 near Thane-Pune Belgaum-Hubli-Bangalore-Ranipet-Chennai
NH 4A	Belgaum-Anmod-Ponda-Panaji
NH 4B	Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust near Km 109-Palaspe
NH 5	Junction with National Highways No. 6 near Baharagora-Cuttack Bhubaneshwar-Visakhapatnam -Vijayawada-Chennai
NH 5A	Junction with National Highway No. 5 near Haridaspur-Paradip Port
NH 6	Hajira-Dhule-Nagpur-Raipur-Sambalpur-Baharagora-Calcutta
NH 7	Varanasi-Mangawan-Rewa-Jabalpur-Lakhnadon-Nagpur-Hyderabad-Kurnool-Bangalore-Krishnagiri-Salem-Dindigul-Madurai-Cape-Kanyakumari
NH 7A	Palayamkottai-Tuticorin Port
NH 8	Delhi-Jaipur-Ajmer-Udaipur-Ahmedabad-Vadodara-Mumbai
NH 8A	Ahmedabad-Limbdi-Morvi-Kandla-Mandvi-Vikhari-Kothra-Naliya Narayan Sarovar
NH 8B	Bamanbore-Rajkot-Porbandar
NH 8C	Chiloda to Sarkhej
NH 8D	Chiloda-Gandhinagar-Sarkhej
NH 8E	Somnath to Bhavnagar
NH 9	Pune-Sholapur-Hyderabad-Vijayawada-Machilipatnam
NH 10	Delhi-Fazilka-Indo Pak Border
NH 11	Agra-Jaipur-Bikaner
NH 11A	Manoharpur-Dausa-Lalsot-Kothum
NH 12	Jabalpur-Bhopal-Khilchipur-Aklera-Jhalawar-Kota-Bundi-Deoli Tonk-Jaipur
NH 18	Junction with NH 7 near Kurnool and Nandyal to Cuddapah and Junction with NH 4 near Chittoor
NH 19	Ghazipur-Balia-Patna
NH 20	Pathankot -Mandi
NH 21	Junction with National Highway No. 22 near Chandigarh-Ropar-Bilaspur-Mandi-Kullu-Manali
NH 22	Ambala to Indo China Border near Shipkila
NH 23	Chas-Ranchi-Rourkela-Talcher- Junction with National Highway No. 42
NH 24	Delhi- Bareilly-Lucknow
NH 27	Allahabad to Mangawan
NH 29	Gorakhpur to Varanasi
NH 30	Junction with NH 2 near Mohania and Patna to Bakhtiyarpur
NH 35	Barasat to Petrapole on India and Bangladesh border
NH 39	Numaligarh to Palel and Indo Burma Border
NH 47	Salem to Kanyakumari
NH 47A	Junction with NH 47 at Kundanoor to Willington Island in Kochi
NH 47C	Junction with NH 47 at Kalamassery to Vallarpadam ICTT in Kochi
NH 55	Siliguri to Darjeeling
NH 56	Lucknow to Varanasi
NH 58	Delhi to Mana Pass
NH 79	Ajmer-Nasirabad-MP border
NH 151	Karimganj – Bangladesh Border
NH 152	Patacharkuchi-Bhutan border
NH 153	Ledo – Lekhapani – Indo / Myanmar – Border
NH 233	The highway starting from India/Nepal border (connecting to Lumbini) via Naugarh, Siddharthnagar, Bansi, Basti, Tanda, Azamgarh and terminating at Varans

Facts about National Highways in India

There are a few important facts about National Highways of India which are important for UPSC:

1. National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is an autonomous authority to develop, maintain and manage the National Highways of India.
2. Central Government has the power to notify any highway as the National Highway and such highway will be specified in the Schedule.
3. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is responsible for the development of National Highways.
4. Government launched Bharatmala Project for the development of about 26,000 km length of Economic Corridors, which along with Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) and North-South and East-West (NS-EW) Corridors are expected to carry majority of the Freight Traffic on roads.
5. NH 44 is the longest national highway in India, running over 3745 Km from Srinagar to Kanyakumari.
6. NH44 which is the longest highway in India was previously known as NH 7
7. NH 47A is the shortest highway of India, having a length of 6 Kms.
8. There are 228 National Highways in India.

Transportation is an essential part of Indian geography. There three types of transportation. They are road, water, and air transportation. The road network in India is considered as one of the largest road networks in the world. The aggregate length of the streets is more than 33 lakh km. The roads in the countries are categorized into Border Roads, National Highways, State Highways, District Highways, Village Roads, etc. The international roads, Border road and the National highways are maintained by the Central Government, where the State highways maintained by the respective state government. The District highways are looking after by District Board.

Frequently Asked Questions