Alka Upadhyaya appointed chairperson of National Highways Authority of India

Why in news?

• A 1990-batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, Alka Upadhyaya has been appointed as the chairperson of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

About National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)

• The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is an autonomous agency of the Government of India, set up in 1995 (Act 1988) and is responsible for management of a network of over 50,000 km of National Highways out of 1,32,499 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.
• National Highways Development Project (NHDP) is a project to upgrade, rehabilitate and widen major highways in India to a higher standard. The project was started in 1998.
• NHAI maintains the National Highways network to global standards and cost effective manner and promotes economic well being and quality of life of the people.