India's road ministry has resolved the problem of infrastructure projects running years behind schedule by making 'years behind schedule' the official schedule. The roads remain unchanged. The paperwork now reflects reality.
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.