Is India's highway-building pace improving safety, not just speed?

India's national highway network has grown about 61%, from 91,287 kilometres in 2014 to 1,46,572 kilometres by March 2026, with daily construction pace reaching around 34 kilometres. This expansion has meaningfully cut travel times on many routes. Whether safety outcomes have kept pace with this speed of expansion is a separate question, since higher travel speeds without matching safety engineering and enforcement can offset some of the safety gains better roads might otherwise provide.