PRAGATI: Transforming Governance through Technology

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Context

The Prime Minister urged State governments to replicate the Centre's PRAGATI model and establish Data Strategy Units to enhance technology-driven governance and accelerate project implementation.

What is PRAGATI?

PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation) is a multi-purpose digital platform launched in 2015, to monitor and review important government projects, programs, and public grievances. 

It is designed to break down administrative silos and enable direct, real-time dialogue between the highest levels of government.

Technological framework 

Digital Data Management: Consolidates project data from various ministries and states onto a single dashboard.

Video-Conferencing: Enables the Prime Minister to interact directly with Union Secretaries and State Chief Secretaries simultaneously.

Geo-spatial Technology: Uses satellite imagery and maps to provide a real-time, ground-level view of project progress.

Operational Mechanism

Three-Tier System: The platform operates with the PMO, Union Government Secretaries, and State Chief Secretaries as the primary stakeholders.

PRAGATI Day: The Prime Minister chairs a meeting on the fourth Wednesday of every month, known as 'PRAGATI Day'.

Data Sourcing: Issues for review are sourced from databases like the Centralised Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) and the Project Monitoring Group (PMG) portal.

Direct Review: During the meeting, officials discuss issues with access to the latest data, ensuring that decisions are informed and bottlenecks are resolved swiftly.

Significance in Governance

Strengthen Cooperative Federalism: By bringing the Centre and States together on one platform, PRAGATI operationalizes the spirit of 'Team India' and helps resolve complex Centre-State and inter-state issues collaboratively.

Tackles Project Delays: It improves accountability for time/cost overruns and has helped resolve long-standing issues like land acquisition, environmental clearances, and inter-departmental coordination.

Enhances Accountability & Transparency: The PM's direct oversight and digital monitoring of directives ensure senior officials are accountable for delays through e-accountability.

Strengthens Public Grievance Redressal: Integrating with CPGRAMS, it ensures systemic public grievances on key schemes are addressed at the highest level, promoting citizen-centric governance.

What are the Challenges related to Pragati Platform?

Risk of Over-Centralization: Critics argue that direct PMO involvement undermine the autonomy of state governments and central ministries.

Personality-Driven Model: Success relies heavily on the current Prime Minister's initiative; institutionalization is key to ensuring continuity.

Data Quality Issues: Platform success depends on timely, accurate data from states/ministries, but varying state administrative capacity poses a bottleneck.

Focus on Symptoms: Good at troubleshooting projects, but fails to address deep-rooted systemic causes of delays and complexities.

Way Forward

State-Level Replication: As urged by the Prime Minister, states should establish similar platforms and dedicated Data Strategy Units to institutionalize tech-driven governance at the local level.

Integration with New Technologies: The next phase of PRAGATI should leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) and predictive analytics to forecast project delays and enable pre-emptive interventions.

Administrative Capacity Building: There is a need for continuous investment in building the digital and administrative capacity of state-level officials to ensure high-quality, real-time data reporting.

Conclusion

PRAGATI is a technology platform for 'Minimum Government, Maximum Governance' that monitors and expedites projects and services, promoting public administration reform and cooperative federalism.

Source: INDIANEXPRESS