India’s road ministry has directed its executing agencies to adopt a revised framework for rating highways. The October 28 circular separates expressways and corridors designated for high speeds from other National Highways. It assesses efficiency, safety and user experience.
For someone planning a delivery or a family journey, the useful result would be a clearer account of where delays and hazards occur, followed by visible improvement. A score is the beginning of that account.
The Breakdown
India already has experience with corridor ratings. In March 2021, MoRTH released assessments covering 18,668 km and 343 toll plazas, using 39 parameters. These included road condition, accident response, toll delays and amenities. The latest exercise therefore builds on an existing approach.
The new tables give pavement condition a weight of 43 for expressways and corridors designated for high speeds, versus 38 for other highways. They also deduct marks for specified safety failures and user complaints.
That makes the component scores important. A single total can conceal whether a road needs surface repairs, safer junctions or better service. Those problems require different responses and may involve different teams.
Where accountability enters
NHAI’s separate December 2024 concessionaire framework connected ratings to a commercial consequence. It assigned 80% weight to pavement condition and 20% to compliance with requirements to rectify defects, with reviews every six months. Contractors scoring below 70 were to become ineligible for new highway projects until their rating improved.
That rule concerns the companies delivering and maintaining projects. Its announcement alone does not establish how many contractors were excluded or how much faster defects were repaired.
Why This Matters
The practical test is whether travellers can connect an assessment to action: which defect was recorded, who is responsible, when work is due and whether a later inspection confirms it was fixed. Repeated measurements would also help distinguish lasting improvement from a temporary repair.
The October circular sets out the scoring framework; it does not provide a completed national league table or measured improvement in journey times.
The Crunch
Better highway measurement can make problems more visible. Its value to a road user will depend on what changes between one assessment and the next.
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