Similarly, the recently opened Navi Mumbai airport would have become operational only by 2049 if it hadn’t been for PRAGATI, a review mechanism to expedite projects delayed for various reasons.
The railway line and the airport are among the more than 3,300 projects worth Rs 85 lakh crore that were fast-tracked after coming under the PRAGATI umbrella. “Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation or PRAGATI took up 3,300 projects… 7,735 issues were raised and 7,156 of them were resolved,” cabinet secretary TV Somanathan said at a press conference on the outcome of 50 meetings.
Of the 7,156 matters resolved through PRAGATI, 35% pertained to land acquisition, 20% to forest, wildlife and environment issues, 18% to right of use or right of way, while the others were delays due to law and order, construction, power utility approvals and financial issues, Somanathan said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself reviewed as many as 382 projects and of the 3,187 issues raised in these projects, 2,958 had been resolved. The platform also reviewed 61 flagship government schemes—including One Nation–One Ration Card, PM Jan Aarogya Yojana, PM Awas Yojana, PM SVANidhi and Swachh Bharat Mission.
Coordination Gaps
It addressed citizen grievances in 36 sectors, including Covid-19, RERA, banking, insurance, Jan Dhan and Matru Vandana. Prime Minister Modi conceptualised PRAGATI in 2015 to tackle time and cost overruns that have been a chronic drag on India’s public projects, the cabinet secretary said. He said PRAGATI addresses three coordination gaps–between central ministries, between the Centre and states, and within state governments. On average, one issue was resolved every working day after review under PRAGATI, the cabinet secretary said.
Asked if the government has plans to review its policy on land acquisition, which has emerged as the biggest impediment in the timely execution of projects, the cabinet secretary said, “There is no plan to change the land acquisition policy.” He said states are keen to resolve their issues through such a mechanism and some are already replicating it. “All states, irrespective of their political dispensations, want to complete their projects and all chief secretaries have been very responsive in resolving issues,” he said. Asked about the most vexed project that the PRAGATI mechanism faced, Somanathan cited the Jammu-Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project, which was approved in March 1994 and was commissioned on June 6, 2025.Process
Somanathan said PRAGATI has a multitier follow-up mechanism that ensures the timely implementation of decisions. Projects are tracked and monitored by the cabinet secretariat, while schemes and grievances are reviewed at the ministry level, with continuous oversight by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and finally at the level of the Prime Minister, he said. The escalation framework ensures coordinated inter-ministerial action, timely decision-making, and focused resolution of implementation bottlenecks in projects of national importance, Somanathan said. He cited a study by Oxford University’s Said Business School that said the PRAGATI platform offered a compelling case study on how digital governance can drive progress. The study is called: From Gridlock to Growth–How Leadership Enables India’s PRAGATI Ecosystem to Power Progress.
Learnings
PRAGATI has led to an improvement in the quality of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs), greater use of the PM Gati Shakti portal, the creation of land banks for compensatory afforestation, and clear escalation thresholds for projects above Rs 500 crore. The National Academy of Administration is preparing training modules for young officers based on lessons from PRAGATI, Somanathan said.