A study by the Business School at the University of Oxford and the Gates Foundation has highlighted the transformative impact of India's PRAGATI platform on the country's infrastructure development. The study, released at a symposium hosted by the Indian Institute of Management, Bengaluru, found that Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation has successfully expedited 340 infrastructure projects worth a staggering $205 billion, overcoming decades of delays, reported PTI.
The study underscores how PRAGATI, launched under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, has transformed digital governance and brought accountability to the highest levels of government. By driving federal and regional cooperation, the platform has helped address long-standing delays in projects, some of which were as much as 20 years overdue.
The findings were presented at a symposium titled 'From Gridlock to Growth: How Leadership Enables India's PRAGATI Ecosystem to Power Progress', which brought together experts from academia, government, and industry to explore the potential of digital governance in transforming infrastructure development. The study credits PRAGATI with significantly enhancing efficiency in the delivery of key infrastructure projects across India, PTI reported.
PRAGATI's core function, as outlined in the study, is its ability to create transparency, ensure accountability, and facilitate timely implementation. By incorporating a data-driven approach and regular reviews, the platform ensures that officials at the highest levels are directly answerable for the progress of projects. The study highlights the unique "naming and shaming" feature of PRAGATI, where officials are publicly held accountable, which has proven to be a powerful tool in breaking bureaucratic gridlocks.
PRAGATI has also proven to be an exemplary model of cooperative federalism in India, bridging divides between the central government and state administrations. Despite political differences across various states, the platform has enabled effective cooperation toward shared development goals. PRAGATI has demonstrated how central and state governments can collaborate effectively, irrespective of political affiliations, when focused on common objectives, as per the study.
The study further suggests opportunities to enhance the Team India approach by integrating more state-specific issues into PRAGATI reviews, promoting direct state-to-state cooperation, and using data analytics to identify and scale successful governance models from the states.
(With inputs from PTI).
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