New Delhi, April 4 -- India's state-owned highway builder is accelerating debt reduction as part of a broader move away from market borrowings, and towards budgetary support and asset monetization, in order to ease interest costs and strengthen its balance sheet.

According to two people aware of the matter, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) plans to reduce its debt to below Rs.1.5 trillion in the current financial year (FY27), with an aim to eventually become a debt-free entity by 2030.

The first person cited above, who requested anonymity, said a significant portion of the debt reduction in FY27 is expected to come from the authority's own resources and surplus earnings through asset monetization.

This includes monetisin...