The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has introduced a new framework to share National Highway infrastructure and operational data with recognised government research institutions. The initiative aims to encourage innovation and support data-driven solutions for safer, more durable and cost-effective highway development.
Under the new framework, institutions including the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and CSIR–Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) can submit research proposals through a centralised mechanism within NHAI. This replaces the earlier process of signing separate Memorandums of Understanding for individual research projects and is expected to speed up approvals.
The initiative will support research in areas such as Pavement Deterioration Models and advanced traffic-flow analytics designed specifically for Indian road conditions. Approved projects will initially receive sample datasets covering up to 2,000 kilometres of National Highways for pilot studies and methodology validation.
NHAI has also introduced data security measures. Participating institutions must sign Non-Disclosure Agreements and use the information strictly for academic and research purposes. Intellectual property generated through approved research will be jointly owned by NHAI and the respective institution.
Through this framework, NHAI aims to strengthen collaboration between government agencies and academic institutions while encouraging research-based solutions for highway planning, maintenance and lifecycle management.
