India, Jan. 13 -- The Government of India has issued a release:
Key Takeaways
PRAGATI: A Model of Real-Time Governance
PRAGATI: What It Is and Why It Was Needed
PRAGATI's Origin and Evolution
Structured Review and Follow-up Process
Project & Issue Escalation Mechanism
Strengthening Cooperative Federalism and Governance
PRAGATI's Impact Across Key Infrastructure Sectors
Beyond Infrastructure: Social Sector & Citizen-Centric Governance
Examples of Long-Pending Projects Unlocked Through PRAGATI
Multi-Faceted Impact
PRAGATI @ 50
References
PRAGATI: A Global Case Study in Project Acceleration
A landmark case study by Oxford's Said Business School, titled "From Gridlock to Growth: How Leadership Enables India's PRAGATI Ecosystem to Power Progress," highlights PRAGATI as:
PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation) is the Government of India's flagship platform for fast-tracking projects, schemes, and grievance redressal through direct, real-time review by the Prime Minister, in partnership with States and Union Ministries. PRAGATI is a strong example of how digital governance can translate intent into real, visible progress. Launched in 2015 under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, PRAGATI has reshaped how India tracks and drives major infrastructure projects and key social programmes. More than a review forum, it reflects a push to break bureaucratic inertia, strengthen a Team India approach across the Centre and States, and build a culture where decisions are time-bound, follow-through is expected, and outcomes are measured. Several long-pending projects initiated by previous governments were also taken up under the PRAGATI platform and subsequently unlocked or completed. These include the Bogibeel rail-cum-road bridge (conceived in 1997), Navi Mumbai International Airport (conceptualised in 1997), Bhilai Steel Plant modernisation (approved in 2007) among various others.
Large time and cost overruns had long been a persistent challenge in India's public projects and schemes. To address this issue across all levels of government, the Prime Minister conceptualized PRAGATI as a comprehensive solution. PRAGATI is a distinctive, integrated, and interactive platform designed to both resolve grievances of and to monitor and review key programmes and projects of the Government of India, along with projects highlighted by State Governments. The PRAGATI platform uniquely brings together three modern technologies-digital data management, video conferencing, and geo-spatial technology. Through this system, the Prime Minister can directly engage with concerned Central and State officials, supported by complete information and up-to-date visual evidence from project sites. This initiative also represents an innovative step in e-governance and exemplifies the principles of good governance.
PRAGATI draws its inspiration from SWAGAT (State Wide Attention on Grievances by Application of Technology). SWAGAT was then Chief Minister of Gujarat Shri Narendra Modi's brainchild, launched in April 2003, and one of India's early, technology-enabled platforms of its kind for grievance redressal. Aptly named-SWAGAT means "welcome" in many Indian languages-it was designed to make government more accessible and accountable. Citizens could submit complaints online, track their applications, view decisions, and even interact with officials through video conferencing. A structured screening process ensured that serious, high-priority petitions reached the Chief Minister's desk, while monthly public hearings created a direct channel for citizens to place their concerns before the state leadership. Over time, SWAGAT came to be widely recognised for strengthening transparency, responsiveness, and accountability in public service delivery.
After taking office as Prime Minister in 2014, PM Modi sought to scale the underlying discipline of SWAGAT to the national level. With PRAGATI, the focus expanded from individual grievances to the larger, more complex challenge of driving delivery across major projects and key programmes - especially where issues were stuck due to multi-agency dependencies or Centre-State coordination. In that sense, PRAGATI was not merely a digital upgrade; it represented a shift in how governance is executed-more time-bound, more outcome-driven, and more collaborative, aligned with the broader principle of "Minimum Government, Maximum Governance."
Regular issues are resolved at the Ministry level, while complex and critical issues are escalated for review up to PRAGATI.
PRAGATI institutionalises cooperative federalism in action. Chief Secretaries of States and Secretaries to the Government of India participate together, answerable in real time, enabling faster resolution of inter-state and Centre-State issues. The platform breaks silos by ensuring:
This model has substantially improved inter-ministerial coordination and reduced procedural bottlenecks that traditionally delayed large public projects.
PRAGATI has played a pivotal role in accelerating implementation and resolving bottlenecks across major infrastructure sectors. Some key sectoral impacts are highlighted below.
While PRAGATI initially focused on large infrastructure projects, its scope has expanded to social sector schemes and public grievances, making it a people-centric governance instrument.
Several projects that had remained stalled for decades were completed or decisively unlocked after being taken up under the PRAGATI platform, demonstrating the impact of sustained high-level monitoring and inter-governmental coordination.
PRAGATI's influence on infrastructure delivery is visible across four dimensions:
Economic: Delays don't just raise project costs through price escalation and logistical churn-they also postpone the economic returns these assets generate through higher passenger movement and commercial activity. By accelerating issue-resolution and completion, PRAGATI helps bring these returns online sooner and improves the value of every rupee invested.
Social: Faster completion means communities benefit earlier. Better roads connect remote areas to schools, hospitals, and markets; rail links, bridges, and logistics upgrades support local enterprise and job creation. The cumulative effect is a more connected India-where access, opportunity, and quality of life improve in ways that citizens can feel.
Environmental: Modernisation cannot come at the cost of sustainability. PRAGATI supports responsible development by helping fast-track environment-related decision-making while keeping safeguards in view, reducing avoidable time overruns that can increase emissions and resource use. PM GatiShakti puts forests, wildlife and eco‑sensitive zones on the same GIS planning canvas, so environmental sensitivities are visible before a project is finalised. That early visibility enables alignment planning, site-suitability and compliance checks-so agencies can adopt alternative alignments and design mitigations upfront to avoid sensitive habitats and reduce ecological impact. And by relying on digital review and videoconferencing, it reduces the need for carbon-intensive travel.
Positive Governance: PRAGATI is not only about expediting projects-it strengthens the culture of delivery. It reinforces transparency, time-bound accountability, and inter-government coordination, and it has helped spread process improvements across departments. In doing so, it acts as a catalyst for wider modernisation and initiatives that aim to extend the benefits of growth more evenly across the country.
As PRAGATI achieved its 50th meeting milestone, it stands as a defining example of how technology-enabled leadership, cooperative federalism and continuous monitoring can translate intent into outcomes at a national scale. Five critical infrastructure projects have been reviewed during the meeting by the Prime Minister across sectors, including Road, Railways, Power, Water Resources, and Coal. These projects span 5 States, with a cumulative cost of more than Rs.40,000 crore. This acts as symbol of the deep transformation India has witnessed in the culture of governance over the last decade.
Prime Minister's Office
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PIB Research
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
