Since the late 2000s, national highway projects had operated under a nominal 30-month construction deadline, which 55% of Hybrid Annuity Mo...

Since the late 2000s, national highway projects had operated under a nominal 30-month construction deadline, which 55% of Hybrid Annuity Model projects missed by more than six months. Across all infrastructure categories, 458 projects had exceeded budgets by ₹5.71 lakh crore. On April 6, 2026, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways announced new guidelines: projects would get 30 months as a base, plus up to six months for major structures, plus 12 months for difficult terrain, plus 24 to 36 months for the Western Ghats or Himalayas — a maximum of six years. The ministry's own language was clarifying: the old schedules had "resulted in higher costs, increased risks, more arbitration cases, and reduced stakeholder confidence." India's solution to unrealistic timelines is a more realistic timeline; whether the more realistic timeline will be met is a question the ministry prefers not to address.