The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has revised its performance rating framework for detailed project report consultants to boost accountability and improve highway planning. The change aims to encourage firms to develop end-to-end consultancy capabilities and to address planning bottlenecks that have slowed highway execution. Highway project awards fell from 12,376 km in FY23 to about 7,538 km in FY25, and new awards were around 7,000 km in FY26, marking a seven-year low.

Under the revised rules associate partner firms will receive 75 per cent of the rating awarded to the lead consultant or joint venture partner, ending the previous practice of awarding identical scores to all partners, two people familiar with the matter said. Associate ratings will be published separately while joint venture partners will continue to receive full project ratings, the sources added. The change will tie consultant scores more closely to actual responsibility on assignments.

The consultant rating system acts as a performance database maintained by the ministry for detailed project report consultants on national highway projects and is based on completed assignments and predetermined evaluation parameters. It provides an objective record of a firm's track record that can be used in future procurement and contract decisions.

By clarifying accountability and publishing associate scores separately the system is expected to create incentives for quality delivery across the consultancy value chain, officials and industry participants said. The revision seeks to remedy a structural weakness that allowed partners to benefit equally regardless of the scope of work and aims to accelerate planning stages that have delayed project execution. Firms will need to strengthen internal systems to secure higher scores and to sustain competitiveness in bidding for national highway work, and the ministry will monitor implementation and adjust parameters as needed.