Standard Data Book (SDB)

The Standard Data Book (SDB) is published by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and provides the government's official consumption norms for materials, labour, and equipment for every item of highway construction work. It is the foundation of rate analysis and cost estimation for all NHAI, NHIDCL, BRO, and state highway projects.

What is the Standard Data Book in government procurement?

Unlike the DSR (which gives finished unit rates), the SDB gives consumption norms, how much of each input is consumed per unit of output. To convert SDB norms into a finished rate, the engineer applies current market prices for each input.

For example, the SDB for "Providing Dense Bituminous Macadam (DBM) Layer, 50mm thick" might specify:

• Bitumen (VG-30): 2.52 MT per 100 sqm
• Coarse aggregate (20mm): 2.2 cum per 100 sqm
• Fine aggregate: 0.8 cum per 100 sqm
• Hot mix plant: 0.6 machine-hours per 100 sqm
• Paver: 0.4 machine-hours per 100 sqm
• Rollers: 0.8 machine-hours per 100 sqm
• Labour: 3.5 man-days per 100 sqm

The rate analysis team then multiplies each norm by the current price for that input: current VG-30 bitumen price (published monthly by Indian Oil Corporation), current aggregate price, current hire rate for hot mix plant, and so on. Adding contractor overhead and profit gives the finished unit rate per 100 sqm of DBM 50mm thick.

The SDB is updated annually by MoRTH based on research studies by the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) and industry feedback on plant productivities. Updated norms reflect improvements in equipment efficiency and construction methodology.

NHAI uses the SDB in two ways: government cost estimators use it to calculate the estimated contract value published in the NIT, and tender evaluators use SDB-based rates to check whether contractor-quoted rates are reasonable.

Why it matters for bidders

Highway contractors must build their rate analysis using SDB norms as the starting point, then adjust for local conditions:

• Material prices: current bitumen price in the project region (varies by location and transport cost).
• Equipment productivity: actual achievable output in local conditions (terrain, weather, sub-grade quality) may differ from SDB norms.
• Labour rates: state notified minimum wages, local labour market conditions, and gang composition.

Significant deviations from SDB norms require documented justification. If a contractor's AoR shows bitumen consumption 15 percent above SDB norms, the government engineer will ask why, the answer might be paving on a curve with more waste, or a speculative AoR that inflates costs.

The SDB is also used to price extra items that arise during contract execution, an item not in the original BOQ will be priced using SDB norms for a similar item, applied at current input prices.

Example

A NHAI EPC contractor preparing to bid on a highway package uses the MoRTH SDB to analyze rates for the 450,000 sqm of surface course (BC 25mm) in the BOQ. The SDB norm for BC 25mm: 1.21 MT bitumen VG-30 per 100 sqm. The contractor uses the current IOC VG-30 price of Rs 52,000/MT. Material cost for bitumen alone: 1.21 x 520 = Rs 629 per 100 sqm or Rs 6.29 per sqm. Adding all other SDB inputs at current prices, overhead 12 percent and profit 8 percent, the contractor arrives at a rate of Rs 310 per sqm for BC 25mm and submits this in the BOQ.

Key rules / thresholds

• SDB is published and updated annually by MoRTH; NHAI specifies which year's SDB applies in each EPC or HAM NIT.
• SDB norms, not finished rates, must be multiplied by current input prices to derive unit rates.
• Bitumen prices for rate analysis are taken from the latest IOC price schedule at the time of bid preparation.
• SDB-based estimated rates are the TEC's benchmark for assessing bid rate reasonableness.
• Extra items during execution are priced using SDB norms applied at current input prices at the time the extra item is ordered.