At an impressive inauguration ceremony of “Kankariya Carnival”, Chief Minister Shri Narendrabhai Modi dedicated a Mini-Train to the Children. He had made an announced,” Today is the birthday of our former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, to mark his birth day, we would identify the Mini-Train as Atal-Express.”

Chief Minister flagged off the train, which also carried a group of mentally challenged children.

Chief Minister Inaugurates Kankariya Carnival

Kankariya Carnival to be held every year on 25th December

Adds soul to the Cultural Identity of Ahmedabad: Kankariya to become a Benchmark of Clean Ahmedabad

Dedication of Kankariya Lake Front Project marks the 1st Anniversary of present Government

Enthusiasm is palpable, jubilation is justified. Chief Minister inaugurated the Kankariya Carnival today. He said,” Kankariya Carnival would be celebrated every year on 25th December. It would infuse soul in to the cultural identity of Ahmedabad city.” The Kankariya Lake Front Project worth Rs.36 Crores, which was dedicated by the Chief Minister today.

In the history of last 550 years, during the 19th century, Kankariya was decorated twice only. Chief Minister stated that Kankariya is not only an ornament to Ahmedabad city but it is a jewel studded ornament for entire Gujarat. But, nobody ever spared a thought about its development.

Inspite of its innovative nature and the ever changing currents, Gujarat was ailing of stagnation. Visionary and welfare project remained oblivion. Ahmedabad was known world over for its textile industries. The textile industry lost its sheen, and gradually its glory was diminished. No one bothered about the devastating economy of Ahmedabad. “By implementing ambitious and public welfare oriented projects, we have made a history,” said the C.M.

Today is the birthday of our former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on the day the Carnival is organised and a Mini Train has been dedicated, naming it “Atal-Express.” On the one hand, we witness the narrow mindsets of Pradeshvad; against that, Gujarat has invited artists from all the states reflecting their cultures. Chief Minister described it as a “Unite India Festival.”

The vibrancy and throbbing culture of Gujarat is being experienced through the carnival. He expressed his confidence that, the carnival would definitely infuse new soul in the cultural life of Ahmedabad.

Mayor of Ahmedabad, Shri Kanaji Thakor said,” The vision of providing world class infrastructure facilities to the city is powered by Shri Narendrabhai's conviction and commitment. Under Kankariya Lake Front Development project, various amenities and facilities are created, which adds the glittering glory to the metro city. Special thrust is given to add recreational facilities. “He outlined the details of the project, which is immense and unique in its kind, the Kankariya Lake Front Development Project, which has been completed at the project cost of Rs.36 Crores.

Children and citizens greeted the Chief Minister when he arrived to flag off the decorated Mini-Train-“Atal-Express.” The Rushi-Kumars recited Taruvar-Stuti.

Speaker of the Assembly, Shri Ashokbhai Bhatt, BJP State Unit President Shri Purushottam Rupala, Revenue Minister Smt Anandiben Patel, State Ministers, M.P.s Shri Harin Pathak, Shri Ratilal Verma, MLAs, eminent leaders, Municipal Commissioner I.P Gautam were among the others who attended the function.

Information Bureau, Government of Gujarat, Date: 25/12/2008

 

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Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi chaired the 50th meeting of PRAGATI - the ICT-enabled multi-modal platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation - earlier today, marking a significant milestone in a decade-long journey of cooperative, outcome-driven governance under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. The milestone underscores how technology-enabled leadership, real-time monitoring and sustained Centre-State collaboration have translated national priorities into measurable outcomes on the ground.

Review undertaken in 50th PRAGATI

During the meeting, Prime Minister reviewed five critical infrastructure projects across sectors, including Road, Railways, Power, Water Resources, and Coal. These projects span 5 States, with a cumulative cost of more than ₹40,000 crore.

During a review of PM SHRI scheme, Prime Minister emphasized that the PM SHRI scheme must become a national benchmark for holistic and future ready school education and said that implementation should be outcome oriented rather than infrastructure centric. He asked all the Chief Secretaries to closely monitor the PM SHRI scheme. He further emphasized that efforts must be made for making PM SHRI schools benchmark for other schools of state government. He also suggested that Senior officers of the government should undertake field visits to evaluate the performance of PM SHRI schools.

On this special occasion, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi described the milestone as a symbol of the deep transformation India has witnessed in the culture of governance over the last decade. Prime Minister underlined that when decisions are timely, coordination is effective, and accountability is fixed, the speed of government functioning naturally increases and its impact becomes visible directly in citizens’ lives.

Genesis of PRAGATI

Recalling the origin of the approach, the Prime Minister said that as Chief Minister of Gujarat he had launched the technology-enabled SWAGAT platform (State Wide Attention on Grievances by Application of Technology) to understand and resolve public grievances with discipline, transparency, and time-bound action.

Building on that experience, after assuming office at the Centre, he expanded the same spirit nationally through PRAGATI bringing large projects, major programmes and grievance redressal onto one integrated platform for review, resolution, and follow-up.

Scale and Impact

Prime Minister noted that over the years the PRAGATI led ecosystem has helped accelerate projects worth more than 85 lakh crore rupees and supported the on-ground implementation of major welfare programmes at scale.

Since 2014, 377 projects have been reviewed under PRAGATI, and across these projects, 2,958 out of 3,162 identified issues - i.e. around 94 percent - have been resolved, significantly reducing delays, cost overruns and coordination failures.

Prime Minister said that as India moves at a faster pace, the relevance of PRAGATI has grown further. He noted that PRAGATI is essential to sustain reform momentum and ensure delivery.

Unlocking Long-Pending Projects

Prime Minister said that since 2014, the government has worked to institutionalise delivery and accountability creating a system where work is pursued with consistent follow-up and completed within timelines and budgets. He said projects that were started earlier but left incomplete or forgotten have been revived and completed in national interest.

Several projects that had remained stalled for decades were completed or decisively unlocked after being taken up under the PRAGATI platform. These include the Bogibeel rail-cum-road bridge in Assam, first conceived in 1997; the Jammu-Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link, where work began in 1995; the Navi Mumbai International Airport, conceptualised in 1997; the modernisation and expansion of the Bhilai Steel Plant, approved in 2007; and the Gadarwara and LARA Super Thermal Power Projects, sanctioned in 2008 and 2009 respectively. These outcomes demonstrate the impact of sustained high-level monitoring and inter-governmental coordination.

From silos to Team India

Prime Minister pointed out that projects do not fail due to lack of intent alone—many fail due to lack of coordination and silo-based functioning. He said PRAGATI has helped address this by bringing all stakeholders onto one platform, aligned to one shared outcome.

He described PRAGATI as an effective model of cooperative federalism, where the Centre and States work as one team, and ministries and departments look beyond silos to solve problems. Prime Minister said that since its inception, around 500 Secretaries of Government of India and Chief Secretaries of States have participated in PRAGATI meetings. He thanked them for their participation, commitment, and ground-level understanding, which has helped PRAGATI evolve from a review forum into a genuine problem-solving platform.

Prime Minister said that the government has ensured adequate resources for national priorities, with sustained investments across sectors. He called upon every Ministry and State to strengthen the entire chain from planning to execution, minimise delays from tendering to ground delivery.

Reform, Perform, Transform

On the occasion, the Prime Minister shared clear expectations for the next phase, outlining his vision of Reform, Perform and Transform saying “Reform to simplify, Perform to deliver, Transform to impact.”

He said Reform must mean moving from process to solutions, simplifying procedures and making systems more friendly for Ease of Living and Ease of Doing Business.

He said Perform must mean to focus equally on time, cost, and quality. He added that outcome-driven governance has strengthened through PRAGATI and must now go deeper.

He further said that Transform must be measured by what citizens actually feel about timely services, faster grievance resolution, and improved ease of living.

PRAGATI and the journey to Viksit Bharat @ 2047

Prime Minister said Viksit Bharat @ 2047 is both a national resolve and a time-bound target, and PRAGATI is a powerful accelerator to achieve it. He encouraged States to institutionalise similar PRAGATI-like mechanisms especially for the social sector at the level of Chief Secretary.

To take PRAGATI to the next level, Prime Minister emphasised the use of technology in each and every phase of the project life cycle.

Prime Minister concluded by stating that PRAGATI@50 is not merely a milestone it is a commitment. PRAGATI must be strengthened further in the years ahead to ensure faster execution, higher quality, and measurable outcomes for citizens.

Presentation by Cabinet Secretary

On the occasion of the 50th PRAGATI milestone, the Cabinet Secretary made a brief presentation highlighting PRAGATI’s key achievements and outlining how it has reshaped India’s monitoring and coordination ecosystem, strengthening inter-ministerial and Centre-State follow-through, and reinforcing a culture of time-bound closure, which resulted in faster implementation of projects, improved last-mile delivery of Schemes and Programmes and quality resolution of public grievances.