India infrastructure: Tasks operating delayed declined to a 15-month low in January; price overruns dip

Of the 1,821 initiatives registered on the ministry’s portal, 617 had been on schedule, whereas 780 had been delayed; 431 confronted price overrun, and 255 confronted each time and price overrun.

Of the 780 delayed initiatives, 25% had been delayed for 1-12 months; one other 24% had been delayed for 1-2 years, and 51% had been delayed for over two years.

“The typical time overrun in these 780 delayed initiatives is 36.13 months,” it mentioned. Throughout January, 22 initiatives had been added, and 13 had been accomplished.

The federal government has been pushing for quicker completion. Till January 2024, 229 initiatives with a worth of Rs 2.1 lakh crore have been accomplished, in contrast with 329 in FY23 and 186 previous to the pandemic.

The ratio of price overrun in giant central authorities initiatives declined in January to 18.41%, after a three-month excessive of 18.65% in December.The ministry classifies price overrun when the venture’s anticipated price exceeds the unique price. A time overrun is calculated when the venture exceeds the stipulated time allotted for the completion of the venture.The anticipated price of 1,821 initiatives valued over Rs 150 crore and above at Rs 30.9 lakh crore was increased than the unique price by Rs 4.8 lakh crore.

Amongst sectors, whereas Railways and Highway Transport and Highways accounted for three-fourths of the initiatives going through price overruns, as a proportion of their complete initiatives, the ratio was additionally excessive for Railways at 55%.

Practically 40% of initiatives in Railways and Roads additionally confronted time overruns.

Practically 373 initiatives had been with out a correct date of commissioning, as per ministry knowledge. The extent of price overruns could also be additional obfuscated as sure companies haven’t revised price estimates.

“It has additionally been noticed that venture companies aren’t reporting revised price estimates and commissioning schedules for a lot of initiatives, which suggests that point/price overrun figures could also be underreported,” it mentioned.

(Now you can subscribe to our Financial Occasions WhatsApp channel)