"DMRC has been making operating profits ever since it became operational. However, in 2005-06, it earned Rs 448.93 crore (Rs 4.48 billion), where as its expenditure was Rs 102.41 crore (Rs 1.02 billion), thus making an operational profit of Rs 346.52 crore (Rs 3.46 billion)," the case study adds.

Investment in the Delhi Metro's phase I - ended November 2006 - was Rs 10,571 crore (Rs 105.71 billion). The second phase, much larger in terms of size, will need much higher investments. The network currently is 65.1 km long and another 121 km will be added with Phase II.

By some estimates, the project, when sanctioned eight years ago, was premised on an expected passenger traffic of 21,80,000 per day in the third year of operation from December 2002. Today only 5,00,000 commuters use the metro per day.

The DMRC website states that the estimated number of originating passengers per day in the year 2011 for Phase I and Phase II corridors will be 26,17,000.

About 1,100 train trips operate every day with a punctuality of nearly 100 per cent, states the IIM case study. According to DMRC spokesperson Anuj Dayal the metro earns Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million) daily, of which Rs 65 lakh (Rs 6.5 million) comes from passenger fare and the rest comes through associated activities like property development, advertisements and displays, consultancy and others.

Following DMRC's success, it has been asked to prepare detailed project reports for metro rail transport systems, both in India as well as abroad.

Countries that have sought its consultation for their project management include, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Ireland and Indonesia.

According to IIM- Lucknow, due to its technical expertise, timely completion of projects and the corporate culture it operates in, DMRC has attained the readiness to compete with other similarly placed agencies globally.