PRAGATI Platform (Prelims & Mains- Polity & Governance)

Why in news?

A recent study by Oxford University’s Saïd Business School (SBS) has lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s PRAGATI infrastructure monitoring system for accelerating 340 projects worth $205 billion across the country and bringing about economic transformation.

About PRAGATI Platform

PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation) is a unique integrating and interactive platform. The platform is aimed at addressing the common man’s grievances and simultaneously monitoring and reviewing important programmes and projects of the Government of India as well as projects flagged by State Governments.

Key features of the PRAGATI application are as follows:

• It is a three-tier system (PMO, Union Government Secretaries, and Chief Secretaries of the States);
• Prime Minister will hold a monthly programme where he will interact with the Government of India Secretaries and Chief Secretaries through Video-conferencing enabled by data and geo-informatics visuals;
• The system will ride on, strengthen and re-engineer the data bases of the CPGRAMS for grievances, Project Monitoring Group (PMG) and the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. PRAGATI provides an interface and platform for all these three aspects.
• The issues flagged are uploaded seven days prior to the PRAGATI day (i.e. on the third Wednesday of every month). These issues can be viewed by the Union Government Secretaries and Chief Secretaries after entering into the application;
• User ID and Password for each of the Union Government Secretaries and Chief Secretaries have been created and made available;
• Union Government Secretaries and Chief Secretaries will be able to see the issues pertaining to their Department /State;
• Union Government Secretaries and Chief Secretaries have to put their comments and updates about the flagged issues within three days (i.e. by next Monday);
• One day – Tuesday is available to the PMO team to review the data entered by the Union Government Secretaries and Chief Secretaries;
• The design is such, that when PM reviews the issue he should have on his screen the issue as well as the latest updates and visuals regarding the same;

Economic Impact of PRAGATI

The economic benefits of PRAGATI are profound, as highlighted by studies from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP).

Multiplier Effect: For every rupee spent on infrastructure projects, PRAGATI has generated a GDP gain of 2.5 to 3.5 rupees. This underscores its pivotal role in stimulating economic activity.

Resilience during economic uncertainty: PRAGATI’s timely implementation of projects has bolstered India’s economic stability amid global uncertainties, demonstrating the importance of effective governance in safeguarding growth.Infrastructure Development: Addressed challenges like land acquisition and inter-ministerial coordination and Enabled faster execution of projects in sectors like transportation, energy, and urban development.