For decades, India’s biggest development challenge was not the absence of ideas or funding, but the inability to convert plans into outcomes promptly. Large infrastructure projects routinely overshot deadlines and budgets, caught between layers of approvals, inter-ministerial coordination failures, and Centre-State deadlocks. Over the last decade, the government has attempted to change this culture through PRAGATI, a governance platform that places delivery, accountability, and timelines at the centre of decision-making. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly emphasised while reviewing projects under the platform, the objective aligns with the larger principle of “Minimum Government, Maximum Governance.
Launched in 2015, PRAGATI, short for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation, was conceived as a response to chronic delays that plagued public projects and flagship schemes. Earlier, monitoring mechanisms were fragmented, largely paper-based and reactive, often stepping in only after projects had already stalled. PRAGATI marked a shift to real-time governance, enabling the Prime Minister to directly review critical projects and grievances through a single digital interface, with States and Union Ministries participating simultaneously.
The scale of intervention reflects this change in approach. According to official data, PRAGATI has fast-tracked projects worth over ₹85 lakh crore, with 382 major national projects reviewed so far. Of the 3,187 issues identified during these reviews, ranging from land acquisition and forest clearances to contractor disputes and inter-agency coordination, 2,958 have been resolved. The emphasis has been on unlocking bottlenecks early, preventing cost overruns, and ensuring that public investments translate into usable assets.
What distinguishes PRAGATI from earlier review mechanisms is its structure. It integrates digital data management, video conferencing, and geospatial technology, allowing project progress to be tracked visually and continuously. The Prime Minister chairs the reviews, while Chief Secretaries of States and Secretaries of Union Ministries are accountable in real time. Decisions taken during meetings are followed up through a multi-tier system, with the Cabinet Secretariat monitoring projects and Ministries overseeing schemes and grievances under continuous supervision of the Prime Minister’s Office.
This model has had tangible effects across sectors. Long-pending projects such as the Bogibeel rail-cum-road bridge in Assam, the Navi Mumbai International Airport, the modernisation of the Bhilai Steel Plant, and key thermal power projects in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh moved forward after years of stagnation once they were taken up under PRAGATI. In each case, delays caused by coordination failures rather than technical impossibility were addressed through time-bound interventions and clear assignment of responsibility.
PRAGATI has also reshaped Centre–State relations by institutionalising cooperative federalism. Instead of fragmented communication, states and ministries now operate on a shared platform with clearly defined timelines. This has proved critical for projects cutting across jurisdictions, highways, transmission lines, rail links, and gas pipelines, where earlier delays arose from misaligned priorities and procedural silos.
Beyond infrastructure, the platform’s scope has expanded to social sector schemes and citizen grievances, reinforcing a people-centric approach to governance. By bringing issues directly to the highest level of decision-making, PRAGATI has reduced escalation time and improved responsiveness. Its integration with platforms such as PM GatiShakti and PARIVESH has also enabled better planning by aligning infrastructure development with environmental and spatial considerations at an early stage.
As PRAGATI completes a decade and crosses its 50th review meeting milestone, its broader significance lies in changing how governance functions. Five major projects across roads, railways, power, water resources, and coal worth over ₹40,000 crore were reviewed in a single meeting, underscoring the platform’s capacity to handle complexity at scale. The long-term benefit is not just faster project execution but a governance culture where delays are questioned, coordination is enforced, and outcomes matter. In that sense, PRAGATI represents a structural shift from intent to implementation in India’s development journey.
