Next time you are on a road trip in India, look at the milestone tops. Their colour tells you who builds and maintains the road.
In this article
| Top colour | Type of road |
|---|---|
| Yellow | National Highway — maintained by the central government (through NHAI and others) |
| Green | State Highway — maintained by the state government |
| Black (or blue) and white | Major district road / city road — maintained by the district or city |
| Orange | Village road, often built under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) |
Reading a milestone
The top usually shows the name of the next town or the road number (for example “NH 44”), and the lower white part shows the distance in kilometres. Larger “hectometre” stones or small markers in between count tenths of a kilometre.
A bit of history
India switched from miles to kilometres in the 1960s as part of metrication, so old “milestones” now count kilometres — the name stayed. NH 44, the longest national highway in India, runs from Srinagar to Kanyakumari.
Colours and designs can vary between states and newer roads, but this scheme is the widely used convention. More India trivia in India facts.
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