There has been a big jump in the cost of major infrastructure projects of the country. The total estimated cost of 1,948 projects costing more than Rs 150 crore has increased to Rs 41,98,684 crore by February 2026. This figure is Rs 5.66 lakh crore more than the original cost of Rs 36,32,088 crore, indicating a massive increase in the cost of the projects.
It has not been made clear in the official report as to how much total cost of projects has increased. However, the increase in overall cost indicates that many projects are facing overruns in both time and budget.
According to the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation, Rs 19.71 lakh crore has been spent on these projects so far. This is about 46.95 percent of the total revised cost, which shows that work on the projects is continuing and progress is also being made.
According to the report, 740 projects (about 38 percent) have achieved more than 80 percent physical progress. At the same time, 250 projects have been financially completed up to 80 percent. It is clear from this that many big projects are reaching their final stages.
Maximum 1,421 projects are going on in the transport and logistics sector, whose total cost is Rs 22.96 lakh crore. Among these, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is at the forefront with 1,108 projects worth Rs 10.51 lakh crore. After this, there are 245 projects in the railway sector, whose total cost is Rs 8.39 lakh crore.
Ministries of Coal, Petroleum and Natural Gas and Power are also running projects on a large scale. Their total cost is Rs 2.4 lakh crore, Rs 5.15 lakh crore and Rs 5.25 lakh crore respectively, which represents investment in the energy and resources sector of the country.
Nine major projects were completed during February 2026. Also, 268 new projects have been included under the monitoring mechanism parameter. These include important schemes like the new unit of Mumbai Refinery and the Ken-Betwa link, which will further strengthen the country's infrastructure in the coming times.
