India, June 19 -- Seeking to curb costly errors during highway construction, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is relying on an in-house artificial intelligence (AI) tool to detect discrepancies in detailed project reports (DPRs), verify conditions on the ground and flag potential issues before they escalate into delays or cost overruns.

DPRs serve as the blueprint for highway projects, determining what will be built, how it will be executed and the estimated cost.

"Detailed Project Reports are our biggest problem. In a Rs.2,000-crore project, variations of Rs.200 crore to Rs.300 crore can arise simply because something was missed during planning. This tool helps identify those gaps at the DPR stage itself," NHAI chairman ...