Context: As one of the biggest reforms, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has gone Fully Digital.
How has this happened ?

• The authority has launched a unique cloud based and Artificial Intelligence powered Big Data Analytics platform – Data Lake and Project Management Software.  
• The entire project management work flow of NHAI is transformed from manual to online portal based, wherein the complete project execution operations including ‘workflow with time lines’ and ‘alert mechanism’ have been configured. 
• All project documentation, contractual decisions and approvals are now being done through portal only. 

Utility of the move

• Flexibility in Storage and Restoration: The complete project documents and correspondences will be stored in Digital format in the cloud-based ‘Data Lake’ linked with GIS tagging and Unique Project ID.
• This will ensure that the project data can be easily retrieved as and when required from any location. 
• Augment Transparency: As all officers and stakeholders connected with the project can see what is going on a real time basis which will amount to concurrent performance audit by the seniors and ensure transparency.
• Reducing Disputes: Majority of the disputes are generic in nature like delay in handing over of encumbrance free site, shifting of utilities, idling charges of plant, machinery, equipment, manpower and delay in decisions etc. 
• These disputes can be minimized as the Data Lake software has provisions to keep track and check on all these constraints so as to ensure work is carried out within the deadlines in a transparent manner. 
• This will eventually diminish chances of litigation in future.
• Better Coordination: NHAI’s e-Office module is also integrated in the system so that all correspondences can flow digitally in a secured manner from field units to HQ seamlessly.
• The lockdown period was used by NHAI to train its employees about using Data Lake which will bring revolutionary changes to NHAI with benefits like No delays, Quick decision making, No question of missing records, Work from anywhere/anytime.

About National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)

• It is an autonomous agency of the Government of India, set up under the provisions of National Highway Authority of India Act, 1988.
• It is responsible for management of a network of over 50,000 km of National Highways out of 1,15,000 km in India.
• It is a nodal agency of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. 
• It has been entrusted with the National Highways Development Project, along with other minor projects for development, maintenance and management.
• Vision: To meet the nation’s need for the provision and maintenance of National Highways network to global standards and to meet user’s expectations in the most time bound and cost effective manner and promote economic well being and quality of life of the people.