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The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has received a higher capital allocation of Rs 7,394 crore for 2026–27. The increase is aimed at speeding up work on strategic roads, tunnels, bridges and airfields along India’s borders.
The Budget also provides Rs 975 crore for an optical fibre cable–based network for Defence Services. The move is meant to strengthen secure communications in remote and high-altitude areas.
BRO’s role has expanded steadily in recent years. Its field presence has grown from 2 projects in the past to 18 today – spanning 11 states and 3 Union Territories. The focus is on improving military mobility, disaster response and connectivity for border communities.
Government funding has risen in step with this expansion. BRO’s budget stood at Rs 6,500 crore in 2024–25. It increased to Rs 7,146.5 crore in 2025–26, a rise of about 10 per cent. The latest allocation continues that upward trend.
Over the last three years, BRO has pushed for faster execution and greater use of technology. This shift has helped deliver all-weather connectivity in some of the country’s most difficult terrain, including Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh and the North-East.
In 2023–24, BRO completed 125 projects worth Rs 3,611 crore. A key milestone was the Sela Tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh, inaugurated on March 9, 2024. Built for Rs 825 crore, the project includes two tunnels and an 8.78 km approach road on the Balipara–Charduar–
Tawang axis. It cuts travel distance by 10 km and ensures year-round access to Tawang, which is critical for troop movement along the Line of Actual Control.
BRO also restored the Naga–Toong stretch in North Sikkim in late 2025. The road had been damaged during the October 2023 glacial floods. Its reopening helped revive local trade and restore access to remote villages.
On December 7, 2025, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated 125 BRO projects in a single day, the largest such launch in the organisation’s history. These projects, costing around Rs 5,000 crore, included 28 roads, 93 bridges and four other works. They were spread across Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Mizoram.
BRO infrastructure has had a wider impact beyond defence needs. Roads such as the Nimoo–Padum–Darcha axis have improved access to the Zanskar Valley. Better connectivity has boosted tourism, healthcare access and local commerce in several border regions.
Strategically, these projects allow faster deployment of troops and equipment. Tunnels such as Sela and Shyok have reduced dependence on seasonal routes along sensitive borders. BRO units also play a key role during natural disasters and are often among the first responders.
During recent inaugurations, the Defence Minister reiterated the government’s push for stronger defence capacity. He noted that India’s defence production has risen from Rs 46,000 crore in 2014 to Rs 1.51 lakh crore, while exports have reached nearly Rs 24,000 crore.
The rising allocation for BRO underlines the growing emphasis on border infrastructure as a core element of national security planning. In the last two years alone, 356 BRO projects have been inaugurated across the country.
Team BharatShakti
