The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has further reduced its debt by ₹4,721 crore, bringing its total outstanding liabilities down to ₹2.39 lakh crore. The total repayment due in FY26 stands at ₹11,251 crore.
This follows a sharp debt reduction of ₹90,634 crore in FY25. With a strong monetisation pipeline in place, NHAI is expected to retire more debt than what matures during the current financial year. Proceeds from highway monetisation through infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) are being used exclusively for debt repayment.
During the current financial year, NHAI plans two rounds of monetisation—one through its private InvIT, National Highways Infra Trust (NHIT), and another through the public InvIT, Raajmarg Infra Investment Trust.
NHIT has already identified nine highway stretches spanning 536.5 km for acquisition, which could generate over ₹10,000 crore. Through the public InvIT route, NHAI plans to monetise around 1,500 km of highways over the next three to five years. In the current year, monetisation through the public InvIT is expected to begin on a smaller scale, potentially raising ₹7,000–8,000 crore.
NHAI’s total debt stood at ₹2.44 lakh crore as of March 31, 2025, compared with ₹3.35 lakh crore at the end of FY24. The authority last raised bonds worth ₹700 crore in FY23. Since then, pre-repayments have significantly eased future obligations.
Earlier, NHAI’s repayment liability was expected to peak at ₹42,564 crore in FY28. Following debt reduction, this has now come down sharply to ₹5,604 crore for that year. The highest repayment obligation is now projected for FY30, when bonds worth ₹26,861 crore are set to mature. All loans raised prior to FY23 are expected to be fully repaid by FY50.
NHAI’s debt had surged after FY16 as the government accelerated spending on road infrastructure amid a pullback by the private sector. The authority’s mandate expanded further with the implementation of the Bharatmala Pariyojana in 2017, leading to increased borrowings under government-approved budgetary limits.
By FY23, NHAI’s debt had risen to ₹3.42 lakh crore, prompting the government to halt further borrowings. Since then, the focus has shifted to debt reduction and higher direct budgetary support. The budgetary allocation to NHAI has been raised to ₹2.28 lakh crore this year, compared with ₹72,944 crore in FY22, when external borrowing was still permitted.
