The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has finalised a tentative list of 17 highway projects spanning 1,692.5km across nine states (Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra) for monetisation under Toll-Operate-Transfer (TOT) and Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) modes in FY2026-27.Over the past three financial years (FY2023-24 to FY2025-26), NHAI has monetised approximately ₹85,749 cr. (Shutterstock representative photo)These 17 projects identified for FY2026-27 exclude assets proposed for monetisation through the newly self-sponsored Raajmarg Infra Investment Trust (RIIT), which will be a separate monetisation vehicle.In this context, asset monetisation means handing over the operation and toll collection rights of existing, running highways to private investors for a fixed period (typically 20-30 years) in exchange for a large upfront payment, without selling the actual ownership of the land or assets.Also Read: NHAI undertakes Pune-Solapur highway repairsThe initiative aligns with the country’s National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP), currently in its second edition, through which the government has set a ₹16.72 lakh crore monetisation target across sectors for FY 2026-2030. The target for the road sector alone is at ₹4.42 lakh crore. Under NMP 1.0, NHAI achieved 71% of ₹1.60 lakh crore targeted for the road sector from FY2021-22 to FY2024-25.Over the past three financial years (FY2023-24 to FY2025-26), NHAI has monetised approximately ₹85,749 crore through identified highway assets, building on cumulative totals of ₹1.42 lakh crore raised across 6,100+ km since the programme began. NHAI had missed the target of ₹29,000 crore for FY26 by a margin of around ₹1,000 crore.