49th PRAGATI meeting:

 49th PRAGATI meeting:

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The 49th meeting of PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation) was convened under the chairmanship of the Hon’ble Prime Minister. The platform, known for bringing together the Centre and States on one table for swift decision-making and project monitoring, focused on expediting critical infrastructure and developmental works across the country.

During the meeting, vital projects worth more than ₹65,000 crore were reviewed. These projects span across 15 States and Union Territories, reflecting the wide national footprint of the initiatives. The sectors under review included:

Mines and Minerals – ensuring timely development and operational efficiency in mining projects, crucial for industrial growth and raw material security.

Railways – monitoring of key connectivity and expansion projects to enhance passenger and freight movement across regions.

Water Resources – major irrigation and interlinking projects aimed at water security, agricultural support, and flood management.

Industrial Corridors – projects designed to catalyze manufacturing, logistics, and investment hubs to boost “Make in India” and regional employment.

Power Sector – strengthening power generation, transmission, and distribution projects to ensure reliable supply and support the energy transition.

The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of timely completion, inter-agency coordination, and direct resolution of bottlenecks through PRAGATI, which continues to act as a catalyst for speed, scale, and efficiency in governance.

Over the past 15 years, India has witnessed a steady transformation in its infrastructure landscape, and the 49th PRAGATI meeting served as a comprehensive review of this trajectory by focusing on vital projects worth over ₹65,000 crore across 15 states and union territories. In the mining sector, states like Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand have been central to iron ore, coal, and bauxite output, where PRAGATI has consistently addressed issues of clearances and logistics bottlenecks to ensure that mineral wealth translates into industrial development and regional prosperity. The railway sector saw projects spread across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, and the North-Eastern states, where past years of expansion have sought to bridge connectivity gaps, introduce electrification, and enhance freight corridors to support economic hubs. In the water resources sector, states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan witnessed focused reviews of irrigation and dam projects, continuing a 15-year trend of balancing water for agriculture with flood management and urban drinking water supply.

The industrial corridors, particularly spanning Delhi-Mumbai (across Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh) and newer corridors in southern and eastern states, have been central to India's push for manufacturing growth, and PRAGATI’s role in the last decade and a half has been in expediting land acquisition, environmental approvals, and inter-agency coordination to prevent delays. The power sector, covering projects in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir, continues to reflect India’s twin focus on coal-based reliability and renewable energy expansion, with PRAGATI regularly reviewing grid integration challenges and financial health of DISCOMs. In North-Eastern states like Assam, Manipur, and Nagaland, PRAGATI has highlighted the need for inclusive infrastructure, where rail, road, and power projects have lagged behind national averages, and the last 15 years have seen gradual but steady integration of this sensitive region with national growth networks.

Union Territories such as Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh have also been important in the review, with projects focusing on urban infrastructure, metro expansions, hydro-power generation, and industrial nodes, demonstrating a pattern of focused central-state collaboration in politically sensitive areas. In southern states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu, waterway modernization, port-led development, and renewable energy integration have been consistent themes in the past decade, and the 49th PRAGATI meeting reaffirmed this trajectory by addressing critical execution challenges. Similarly, Maharashtra and Gujarat, as industrial powerhouses, have seen sustained focus on freight corridors, ports, and industrial clusters, where PRAGATI has served as a trouble-shooting mechanism for private-public partnership projects.

Looking back over 15 years, PRAGATI’s interventions have created an ecosystem where the Prime Minister directly interacts with state officials and project agencies, ensuring that projects across railways, power, mining, water, and industrial development are not delayed by bureaucratic hurdles. While the scale of investment has grown exponentially, what remains consistent is the attempt to deliver time-bound, transparent, and accountable governance. The cumulative impact of these reviews is visible in improved connectivity, higher electricity availability, better irrigation outcomes, and expanding industrial capacity across India. The 49th PRAGATI meeting thus stands not as an isolated review but as part of a continuous evolution of governance where states and UTs collectively move forward in achieving national development goals.

Good — I’ll continue the exploration and now ground it with figures and authoritative facts (2010 → 2025 window, i.e., the past ~15 years), organized by sector first and then by groups of States & Union Territories so every part of the country is covered. I’ll cite official/major sources for the most important figures.

National sectoral snapshot (2010 → 2025 — headline figures)

1. Power (installed capacity & transition): India’s national installed capacity is tracked by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA); the CEA reports and monthly/annual instalment tables are the canonical source for year-on-year capacity additions and the changing generation mix (coal, hydro, nuclear, gas, renewables). 

2. Coal & mineral production: Coal production rose from around 600–700 MT/year in the early 2010s to over ~1,040–1,048 MT in FY 2024–25 (provisional) — reflecting a strong domestic production push and capacity expansions. Iron-ore and other minerals similarly rose in the period; iron ore was reported at roughly ~275 MT in 2023–24 with continued momentum into 2024–25. 

3. Railways (electrification & capacity): Indian Railways has pushed near-complete route electrification over the last decade. Public reporting in 2024–25 placed network electrification at well over 98–99% of broad-gauge route km, with only small pockets (mostly in parts of the Northeast and a few remaining sections) left at the end of 2024–25. 

4. Water & irrigation: Net irrigated area has been stable but with steady improvements in infrastructure: official agriculture ministry reporting estimates net irrigated area ~79.3 million hectares (2022–23) and gross irrigated area ~122.3 million ha — showing irrigation remained a major focus during the period. Schemes like PMKSY and state canal modernization are part of the 2010–2025 progress. 

5. Industrial corridors / logistics: Landmark corridor programmes such as the Delhi–Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) (multi-state) and other corridor initiatives (eastern, southern corridors) have matured from planning (2010s) to staged implementation of nodes, freight corridors and smart city/SEZ clusters in the 2015–2025 decade. 

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Sector-by-sector development (with state/UT highlights, grouped regionally)

Northern & NCR States (Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal, J&K, Uttarakhand)

Power & renewables: Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana saw major additions in solar and large-scale thermal modernization. Rajasthan became a leading solar state (large utility projects after 2015) and continued to grow transmission links to evacuate renewables into the northern grid. (CEA & state SEB data underpin these trends). 

Rail & connectivity: UP and Rajasthan were focal points for Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) related works and regional doubling/electrification; PRAGATI reviews consistently probed bottlenecks on corridors linking NCR to ports/industrial nodes. Electrification is effectively complete for most mainlines in these states. 

Water/irrigation: Punjab and Haryana retained very high irrigation intensity; in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, large canal projects and lift irrigation (and modernization) were repeatedly reviewed across the 2010–2025 period. (See Jal Shakti/State irrigation planning). 

Western India (Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli)

Industrial corridors & ports: Gujarat and Maharashtra continued to dominate industrial corridor node development (DMIC nodes, port modernization at JNPT, Kandla, Nhava Sheva) and have been beneficiaries of large private investment and PPP structures. DMIC is a 1,500 km corridor linking Delhi–Mumbai across these states. 

Mining & minerals: Maharashtra and Goa host significant mineral and industrial activity (iron ore in parts historically; environmental/regulatory scrutiny shaped output trajectories). National mining data show concentrated production in eastern states but western states have important mineral processing and port export capability. 

Southern India (Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, Puducherry, Lakshadweep)

Power & industry: Tamil Nadu and Karnataka were major centers of renewable deployment (wind in TN, solar & hybrid in Karnataka), plus industrial capacity expansion in Andhra and Telangana led to continuing power demand and generation/transmission upgrades. Grid strengthening and large renewable procurement were consistent trends in 2015–2025. 

Ports & corridors: Andhra and Tamil Nadu developed port and port-linked industrial zones; Andhra’s major irrigation projects and coastal logistics were periodically reviewed under PRAGATI. Kerala’s major focus combined water management, coastal ports and urban infrastructure strengthening. 

Eastern & Central India (Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh)

Mining & raw materials: Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand have been core mineral producers (iron ore, coal, bauxite); national mineral tables show these states supplying a large share of iron ore and coal. Growth of captive and commercial mining, and corresponding rail/freight upgrades, were central to 2010–2025 infrastructure planning. 

Rail & freight: Freight corridor works and dedicated block capacity were prioritized to free up capacity for mineral freight; states with heavy mineral output saw rail capacity and siding investments prioritized in PRAGATI meetings. 

North-East (Assam, Arunachal, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim)

Connectivity catch-up: The Northeast has been a PRAGATI focus because the region historically lagged on rail, road and power. Rail electrification and new broad-gauge lines expanded in the 2015–2025 decade but some pockets still remained (news and railway electrification trackers flagged Assam and other NE sections as the last unelectrified segments as of 2024–25). Central investment programs and Northeast Special Infrastructure packages have been used to close the gap. 

Union Territories & Special Regions (Delhi, Chandigarh, Ladakh, J&K, Puducherry, Andaman & Nicobar)

Urban & strategic projects: Delhi’s metro and urban projects, J&K and Ladakh hydro-power and strategic connectivity investments, and island infrastructure projects in Andaman & Nicobar were part of the 2010–2025 set of prioritized investments. UTs often received centrally driven project packages and special financial/administrative focus through Union ministries. 

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Quantified outcomes and trends (figures & facts)

Coal production growth: From under 1,000 MT in 2023–24 to ~1,047.6 MT (provisional) in 2024–25, demonstrating growth in domestic extraction and dispatch that supports thermal generation & industry. This is a major structural number for industry and power security. 

Iron-ore & minerals: Iron ore production in recent annual cycles was reported at ~275 MT (2023–24) with continued strong monthly flows into 2024–25 (Ministry of Mines monthly summaries). This supports steel capacity increases and raw-material supply to major steel hubs (Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka). 

Rail electrification: By 2024–25 Indian Railways had electrified the overwhelming majority of its broad-gauge network; reporting through 2024–25 and 2025 shows >98–99% route electrification, leaving relatively small pockets largely in remote northeastern divisions. Electrification accelerates traction efficiency and reduces dependence on diesel. 

Irrigation footprint: Net irrigated area was reported as ~79.3 million hectares (2022–23) with gross irrigated area ~122.3 million ha — showing that over the 2010–2025 period India has sustained and slightly increased irrigation coverage through canals, tubewells and watershed interventions. 

Industrial corridor progress: DMIC remains the flagship corridor (1,504 km route) and by the 2015–2025 decade many nodes, logistics parks and DFC synergies were executed — improving manufacturing clustering across multiple western and northern states. 

What this means for the 15 states/UTs in PRAGATI’s 49th meeting

The projects totalling ~₹65,000 crore that were reviewed are continuations/accelerations of the patterns above: (a) mineral-linked rail & siding works for Odisha/Chhattisgarh/Jharkhand; (b) doubling and electrification works in Bihar/UP (example: Bakhtiyarpur-Rajgir-Tilaiya doubling approved recently); (c) irrigation & water resource clearances for Andhra/Telangana/Rajasthan; (d) power evacuation/transmission links and renewable integration works for Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Contemporary press and PIB/Business Standard coverage of the 49th PRAGATI meeting lists the sectors and states covered.