Cost and Time Overruns on Indian Public Projects: What the Official Data Shows

MoSPI's Flash Report for June 2026 records 1,847 central sector projects of Rs 150 crore and above carrying a revised cost of Rs 40,54,473 crore against an original sanction of Rs 35,61,721 crore, a gap of Rs 4,92,752 crore. The same report no longer publishes how many of those projects are late: a direct text search of the June 2026, May 2026, December 2025 and July 2025 editions returns no occurrence of the words delay or overrun, metrics the pre-PAIMANA format carried in dedicated sections. This report sets out what the official record does still show, broken down by sector, ministry and region, places it against the Comptroller and Auditor General's audited findings on pre-award cost escalation, and maps each documented cause to the project-control discipline that addresses it. It is compiled entirely from published public sources, each named and linked.

Part of AECS Research Global's publications programme — drawing on ARG's work across cost management, EPC advisory and integrated project delivery. Download the full report below.