Infrastructure projects worth more than ₹150 crore each recorded a cumulative cost overrun of around ₹3,40,504 crore, according to a monthly government report for July 2026.

A total of 1,775 ongoing infrastructure projects across 17 Central Ministries/ Departments were monitored, and it was found that the total revised cost was ₹37,10,642 crore compared to their original cost of ₹33,70,138 crore.

The report, however, did not specify the actual number of projects that faced cost overrun.

The cumulative expenditure incurred on these projects stands at ₹19.26 lakh crore, accounting for approximately 51.91% of the revised project cost, indicating steady progress in project implementation, a statement by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) said.

A significant proportion of projects are at advanced stages, with 675 projects (38%) achieving over 80% physical progress, while 305 (17%) have crossed 80% financial completion.

The data also reflects a balanced pipeline, with projects distributed across early and advanced stages of implementation.

The Transport & Logistics sector accounts for the highest number of ongoing projects (1,246 projects), with revised estimates of Rs 19.81 lakh crore underscoring priority to connectivity-driven infrastructure growth.

1,775 ongoing infrastructure projects include 735 Mega projects (project cost of ₹1,000 crore & above) with an original cost of ₹28.77 lakh crore, and 1,040 Major projects (project cost below ₹1,000 crore and up to ₹150 crore) amounting to ₹4.93 lakh crore.

Physical and financial progress broadly move in tandem, with a large number of projects clustered at the initial (0–20%) and advanced (81–100%) stages, indicating a pipeline of newly started projects alongside many nearing completion.

While physical progress exceeds financial progress in the 81–100% range, financial progress is relatively higher in the early stages, reflecting upfront expenditure patterns in project implementation.

Ministry of Road Transport & Highways accounts for the highest number of projects, with 993 projects (56%) and a share of the total revised project cost of ₹9.62 lakh crore (26%), highlighting its central role in national infrastructure development.

Ministry of Railways is implementing 190 projects (11%), with a total revised project cost of ₹6.38 lakh crore (17%).

Ministry of Coal accounts for implementing 121 projects (7%), with a total revised project cost of ₹2.22 lakh crore (6%).

The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Ministry of Power, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, and the Department of Water Resources, River Development & GR are implementing 103, 98, 50, and 38 projects, with associated revised costs of ₹4.23 lakh crore, ₹6.08 lakh crore, ₹3.78 lakh crore, and ₹2.01 lakh crore, respectively.

The remaining 182 projects (10%), with a total revised cost of ₹2.78 lakh crore (8%), are distributed across various Ministries/Departments, including Higher Education, Civil Aviation, Steel, Telecommunications, Labour & Employment, Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Health & Family Welfare, Mines, DPIIT, and Sports.

Transport & Logistics remains the dominant sector, accounting for 53% of the total revised project cost (₹19.81 lakh crore) across 1,246 projects (70% of the total projects), underscoring the central role of Roads & Highways, Railways, Aviation, Urban Public Transport, Shipping, and Inland Waterways in economic integration and logistics efficiency.

The Energy sector follows, with 29% of the aggregated revised cost (₹10.66 lakh crore) across 205 projects, reflecting sustained emphasis on Oil & Gas infrastructure, electricity generation, transmission and distribution networks, and energy storage systems.

Communication infrastructure, with a project cost of ₹1.34 lakh crore (4%) across 31 projects, represents targeted interventions aimed at strengthening digital connectivity.

Water & Sanitation projects account for Rs 2.05 lakh crore (5%) across 53 projects, highlighting continued focus on essential urban services.

Social & Commercial infrastructure, comprising 91 projects with a revised project cost of ₹0.99 lakh crore (3%), reflects selective investments in education, healthcare, real estate, and tourism, hospitality and wellness.

Projects classified under ‘Others’, amounting to ₹2.26 lakh crore (6%) across 149 projects, indicate diversification across sectors such as coal, steel, metals, and mining.

“The government has formed various Committees after the year 1947…including Standing Committee on Economic Statistics,” Minister of State for Statistics Rao Inderjit Singh said in a written reply to Lok Sabha. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

The government on August 9 said Standing Committee on Economic Statistics has been renamed as Standing Committee on Statistics.

The Committee will advise Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on all surveys.

“The government has formed various Committees after the year 1947…including Standing Committee on Economic Statistics (SCES),” Minister of State for Statistics Rao Inderjit Singh said in a written reply to Lok Sabha.

He further said SCES was renamed as Standing Committee on Statistics (SCoS), which was constituted vide a MoSPI order dated July 13, 2023.

SCoS will review the extant framework and address the issues raised from time to time on the subject/results/methodology, etc related to all surveys as brought before SCoS by MoSPI. It will advise on survey methodology including sampling frame, sampling design, survey instruments, etc and to finalise tabulation plan of surveys. It will also aid finalisation of survey results.

The panel will provide guidance to conduct pilot surveys/pre-testing, if necessary, before finalising schedules for data collection. It will also provide guidance for study and exploring the availability of administrative statistics relating to surveys/statistics.

SCoS will also provide guidance for studying/identifying data gaps/additional data requirements, if any, in respect of surveys/statistics and suggest appropriate strategy for improvement.

The panel will provide technical guidance to the Central and State-level agencies for conducting the surveys.

It will also look into any other matter relating to the surveys/survey results referred to SCoS by MoSPI from time to time. SCES chaired by former chief statistician Pronab Sen was set up in December 2019 for improving quality of data amid criticism of the government over political interference.

In March 2019, expressing concerns over “political interference” in influencing statistical data in India, as many as 108 economists and social scientists had called for restoration of “institutional independence” and integrity to the statistical organisations.

Their statement had come against the backdrop of a controversy over revision of gross domestic product (GDP) numbers and withholding employment data by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO).

Mr. Sen had said that for decades, India’s statistical machinery enjoyed a high level of reputation for the integrity of the data it produced on a range of economic and social parametres.

In November 2019, MoSPI had decided not to release the Consumer Expenditure Survey results of 2017-18, citing data quality issues.

In another reply to the House, Mr. Singh said two meetings of SCES have been held till now. The first meeting was held on January 7, 2020 and the second was held on February 10, 2021.