Question

Which is the longest national highway in India?
A.NH-5
B.NH-2
C.NH-3
D.NH-7

Answer 1

Hint: The National Highways in India are a network of trunk roads connecting major cities and towns all over the country. The roads are administered under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and constructed by the National Highway Authority of India and the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation. The total distance covered by the National Highways in India is 142,126 km as of 2019. However, it only constitutes 2.7% of the total road network in India.

Complete Answer:
Option A: is incorrect. The NH 5 runs from Firozpur in Punjab to the Shipki La pass at the border with China through Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
Option B: is incorrect. The NH 2 runs from Dibrugarh in Assam to Tuipang in Mizoram through the states of Assam, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram. It covers a total distance of 1,325 km.
Option C: is incorrect. The NH 3 runs from Atari near Amritsar to Leh in Ladakh though Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh.
Option D: is correct. The current NH 7 runs from Fazilka in Punjab to Mana in Uttarakhand through Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. However, the former NH 7 highway ran from Lakhnadon in Madhya Pradesh to Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu and this is now a part of the NH 44 which is the longest national highway in India. It runs from Srinagar to Kanyakumari covering a distance of 3,806 km over Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Note: The National Highways were administered by the National Highways Act which was passed after independence in 1956 and the National Highway Authority of India was set up by the National Highway Authority of India Act in 1988. As of 2019, the state of Maharashtra has the longest total length of the highway in India, followed by Rajasthan.