National highway projects awarded rise 62.9% during April-Sept: MoSPI

National highway projects awarded rose 62.9% year-on-year to 2,236.3 km during April-September of FY27, according to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation's (MoSPI) infrastructure performance update released on Friday.

Electronic toll collection (ETC) transactions increased 24.1% year-on-year to 225.2 crore during the same period. The value of these transactions rose 11.7% to Rs 36,994.5 crore, reflecting the wider use of digital toll collection across the road network.

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The figures are part of the quarterly update of the PAIMANA (Project Assessment, Infrastructure Monitoring & Analytics for Nation building) Performance Dashboard, which tracks key infrastructure sectors through standardised indicators.

In civil aviation, air cargo movement rose 12% year-on-year to 18.6 lakh tonnes during April-August of FY27. Foreign tourist arrivals reached 30.49 lakh during the period, up 2% from a year earlier.

The telecommunications sector added 29,256 km of optical fibre cable during April-August, taking the cumulative network length to 7,52,113 km by August 2026. The number of Gram Panchayats connected increased by 5,352 to 2,23,814.

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At major ports, cargo handling rose 7.2% year-on-year to 390.4 million tonnes during April-August. Non-major ports recorded a 1.8% increase to 313.4 million tonnes. Petroleum and crude products accounted for 29.2% of total cargo handled at ports, with volumes rising 3.1% year-on-year.

The power sector's total installed capacity increased 12.1% year-on-year to 5,32,739.7 MW as of March 2026. Renewable energy capacity grew 29.5% to 2,23,273 MW, accounting for about 42% of the total installed capacity.

Railways also recorded an expansion in infrastructure and freight capacity. Electrified track kilometres increased 4.8%, while the number of railway wagons rose 5.4% in FY25.

MoSPI said the latest quarterly update includes data from the respective ministries, departments and official reports. The performance dashboard now covers 184 indicators, following the addition of 21 new indicators. Data for 41 indicators across the power, civil aviation, ports, shipping and waterways, and road transport and highways sectors has also been updated.

The dashboard provides public access to infrastructure performance data through a single platform, along with sector-wise summaries of key trends.