New Delhi: A high-tech system run by the Prime Minister's Office to monitor and accelerate government initiatives in real-time has overseen a colossal portfolio of over 3,300 major public projects and 61 schemes valued at a staggering ₹85 trillion in the last ten years. Significantly, official data reveals that only a minor portion of these required the direct personal intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, underscoring the system's success in tackling most obstacles at ministerial and bureaucratic tiers.
A Layered Approach to Problem-Solving
Cabinet Secretary T.V. Somanathan, addressing a press conference on the platform's achievements, provided detailed insights. He stated that of the projects which met the criteria for escalation under the PRAGATI framework, approximately 382—or about 10%—were elevated for review at the prime minister's level. The vast majority were effectively managed through line ministries, inter-ministerial coordination, and engagement with state governments.
PRAGATI, which stands for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation, was inaugurated in March 2015. It is a technology-powered governance mechanism where the Prime Minister assesses infrastructure projects, government schemes, and public grievances by removing bottlenecks between ministries and between the Centre and states. The platform's 50th meeting was presided over by Modi on December 31.
Somanathan, who was joined by secretaries from pivotal departments like power, roads, industry, and railways, explained that this layered methodology is designed to prevent routine administrative matters from being centralized. Simultaneously, it ensures that projects which are politically sensitive, of high value, or long-pending receive top-level attention when necessary.
Decentralized Resolution with Centralized Accountability
Under this model, ministries are expected to resolve most issues related to land, environment, utilities, and right-of-way internally or in collaboration with states. Only the most complex and intractable cases are escalated for the Prime Minister's review. Somanathan emphasized that PRAGATI has now become an integral part of the government's decision-making fabric, rather than just a periodic review forum.
The government's shared data indicates that a total of 7,735 issues have been logged within the PRAGATI ecosystem so far. Of these, an impressive 7,156 have been resolved, with the speed of resolution picking up notably after 2021.
Projects that underwent direct review by the Prime Minister constitute roughly 10% of this progress. These 382 PRAGATI projects, spanning 637 packages or sections, had 3,187 issues raised, with 2,958 successfully resolved. This translates to nearly one issue being settled every working day at this level.
Expert Acclaim and Future Steps
An external study conducted by the Saïd Business School at Oxford University has hailed PRAGATI as a global benchmark in digital governance. The study noted that its power stems from merging decentralized problem-solving with senior-level accountability.
Jaijit Bhattacharya, founder and president of the Centre for Digital Economy Policy Research (C-DEP), commented, "PRAGATI has significantly strengthened India’s development delivery by fast-tracking stalled projects through high-level, technology-enabled monitoring. By breaking bureaucratic silos and enforcing accountability across Centre and states, it has shortened timelines for critical infrastructure."
With over 400 major projects still underway, the government's focus will remain on bolstering ministerial ownership and state coordination. Prime Minister-level reviews will be reserved for projects where delays could incur high economic or strategic costs.
The Cabinet Secretary also announced plans for a study to quantify the cost savings achieved in project implementation after issues were resolved via PRAGATI. Furthermore, a training module is being developed to acquaint young officers with project implementation and issue resolution processes at their administrative training institutes, including the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie.
Regarding policy, Somanathan clarified that there are no current plans to revise the land acquisition policy, even though it remains a primary cause of delays in infrastructure projects across the country.
