Up to ₹17 lakh crore across the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) can be saved by India through strengthening pre-construction planning—especially the Detailed Project Report (DPR) stage—a white paper released by Vector Consulting Group has emphasised.
The study cautions that India’s infrastructure ecosystem is stuck in a pattern where all stakeholders—government agencies, DPR consultants, and contractors—operate with good intent, yet systemic design flaws make delays and cost overruns nearly inevitable.
The white paper, based on insights from CXOs of 16 major infrastructure companies (each with revenues above ₹1,000 crore) and 30 leading DPR consulting firms, finds that most mid-execution disruptions—land and right-of-way issues, design changes, utility conflicts, funding interruptions, and approval delays—stem from incomplete surveys, outdated baseline data, and insufficient design validation during the DPR stage.
“A key root cause is the way DPR consultants are selected. The Quality and Cost Based Selection (QCBS) system, designed to balance technical strength with competitive pricing, often collapses into an L1 contest because quality scores cluster too closely,” the paper mentions.
“This pushes consultants into unsustainably low bids, with no price escalation even when scope or timelines expand. As a result, viability drops, and the ability to conduct rigorous surveys and design checks is severely limited,” it points out.
Despite pre-construction planning being the foundation of execution, India currently spends only 0.5%–1% of project cost at this stage—far below the global benchmark of 10%, according to the paper.
“India is fully capable of world-class execution,” said Anantha Keerthi, Senior Partner, Vector Consulting Group.
“If we strengthen the DPR stage with a modest increase in investment, this can pay for itself many times over through avoided delays and cost overruns,” he said.
The white paper recommends five structural reforms: shifting to time-and-materials DPR contracts, setting up integrated pre-construction war rooms, adopting focus-and-finish review cadences, instituting a DPR-focused PMO, and strengthening preliminary studies with rigorous, regularly updated validation.
As the paper, fixing the DPR process will realign incentives across the ecosystem, improve contractor margins, attract stronger firms, and accelerate project delivery—helping India stay on track with its infrastructure ambitions.
Published – December 09, 2025 09:39 pm IST
