According to government data released, in FY24, work on 281 central government projects costing over Rs 1.50 billion was completed, compared to 329 projects completed in the previous year. It was noted that this completion rate was the second-highest in nearly a decade.

The data also revealed that the proportion of delayed projects increased to 41.6% in March from 41.2% in the previous month. Similarly, the ratio of cost overruns rose to 18.65% compared to 18.19% in the previous month. This increase was attributed to the anticipated cost of 1,873 projects amounting to Rs 31.9 trillion, which was Rs 5 trillion higher than the original cost.

By the end of March, 779 projects were delayed, with 51% of them being delayed for over two years, averaging 36.04 months or nearly three years.

The government release indicated that three projects (two road projects and one telecom project) were added, while 32 projects (seven roads, 23 in petroleum, and two in the power sector) were completed in March.

The release also pointed out a concerning observation that many project agencies were not reporting revised cost estimates and commissioning schedules for numerous projects, hinting that time/cost overrun figures might be underreported.

A sectoral analysis revealed that Railways and water resources had the highest cost overruns, with the anticipated costs of all projects monitored by the ministry exceeding the original cost by 54% and 197%, respectively.

Of the 249 projects monitored under Railways, 149 were facing cost overruns, while the ratio was 9 out of 41 for water resources. Additionally, nearly a fifth of road projects, which constituted the highest number of ongoing projects, were experiencing cost overruns.

Concerning time overruns, 109 out of 249 railway projects and nearly 40% of road projects were delayed.