The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has initiated several cluster development projects to modernise the Indian National Highways, transform the highways sector, and improve trade and transport in the nation. The cluster initiative includes Bharatmala Pariyojna and India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highways (IMTTH).

The organisation has also initiated other domestic projects such as Wayside Amenities (WSA), [b]Electronic Toll Collection (ETC)[/b], Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS), drones for construction projects, and GPS tolling. These domestic projects are being undertaken by Chief General Manager (CGM) of NHAI, Akhilesh Srivastava.

[b]Wayside Amenities[/b] includes three sub-projects, which are: Highway Village, Highway Nest, and Highway Nest (Mini). Of these, the Nest and Nest (Mini) are already operational at several national highways in the country. The Village is being built under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model – people owning lands abutting national highways can develop the project on those lands without selling them to the government.

The Village will act as a safe halting point or ‘highway port’ for motorists commuting on highways and provide them with clean restrooms, emergency clinics, ATMs, fuel stations, repair shops, hotels, branded restaurants, purified drinking water, and more. The Village - the largest of the three enclosures that are yet to be constructed - also will include conference rooms and helipads.

The ETC system, which is already operational at several Toll gates in India, is a part of the Central government’s Digital India initiative to promote transparency in and digitalise government services. The system allows the user to make [b]toll payments[/b] electronically, easing traffic flow and reducing the time taken at Toll plazas. ETC uses sensors and computers to instantly deduct toll fee from vehicles with RFID-encoded FASTag stickers affixed to them.

CGM Akhilesh Srivastava and his team at the NHAI also are working on GPS tolling, Pay-As-You-Use, which is an advanced iteration of the ETC. The tolling system will use satellite-enabled technology such as GPS or GSM to track vehicular movement on highways and automatically debit the toll fee.
The technology can end the need for toll gantries and other expensive infrastructure. Pay-As-You-Use charges on a distance-based toll tariff; it will bill the user only for the distance they travel, as opposed to the previous ones that invoices them based on vehicle type. The first leg of the Pay-As-You-Use pilot is being implemented in the Delhi-Mumbai corridor.

The ATMS, which is another important undertaking being lead by CGM Srivastava, manages highway incidents such as accidents, traffic jams, and grid locks using technology. The system uses networks of technologies and software to carry out its tasks. The ATMS can dispatch emergency facilities such as ambulance, cranes, and tow-away trucks upon receiving information.
It also uses UAVs or drones and LiDARs to support their operations. However, drones and LiDARs are mainly being used for gathering geospatial and surveillance data on all the highway projects. They also are being used for creating DPRs for those projects before beginning construction.