♦ Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari inaugurated India's first bio-bitumen-based National Highway stretch on NH-44 in Mansar, Nagpur, Maharashtra on 21 December 2024.
♦ This stretch was developed using lignin-based bio-bitumen technology by Praj Industries, in collaboration with CSIR - Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and Oriental.
♦ This is the first national highway in the country built using bitumen made from crop residues - lignin.
♦ This road made from bio-bitumen is 40 percent stronger than a traditional asphalt road, and by mixing 15 percent bio-bitumen in the asphalt, a 1-kilometre-long stretch has been constructed in the Nagpur-Mansar National Highway project.