Archive · 26 Aug 2026
Modi Flags Unacceptable Infrastructure Quality, Demands End-to-End Oversight
Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed several large government infrastructure projects.
These projects involve railways, roads and power systems in nine states.
He said poor construction quality is not acceptable.
He also questioned whether another level of auditing is needed because current checks may not be enough.
Modi said projects should be planned as complete systems, not as separate pieces.
For example, producing more electricity is not enough if there are no transmission lines to carry it.
He asked officials to use better technology, improve supervision and consider shared utility corridors.
The meeting also discussed using agricultural data and teaching people how to avoid online fraud.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called construction-quality problems “unacceptable” during the 53rd PRAGATI meeting.
Modi reportedly questioned whether a “fourth-party audit” was needed because existing third-party quality audits may not be working effectively.
Six infrastructure projects in the railway, road and power sectors, costing more than ₹30,000 crore across nine states, were reviewed.
Officials were directed to focus on timely completion, inter-agency coordination, integrated project planning and stronger quality assurance.
The meeting also covered common utility corridors, AgriStack and efforts to prevent cyber fraud, including digital-arrest scams.
- Who
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi, central secretaries, state chief secretaries, ministries and implementing agencies.
- What
- The 53rd PRAGATI meeting reviewed six infrastructure projects and addressed construction quality, delays, utility planning, agricultural data and cyber fraud prevention.
- When
- Tuesday, 25 August.
- Where
- Seva Teerth, New Delhi.
- Why
- To improve project quality and delivery, prevent delays, strengthen coordination and ensure that infrastructure produces its intended benefits.
- Meeting
- 53rd meeting of PRAGATI, the ICT-enabled, multi-modal platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation
- Projects reviewed
- Six projects in the railway, road and power sectors
- Geographic scope
- Nine states
- Combined cost
- More than ₹30,000 crore
- Audit concern
- Modi reportedly questioned whether a fourth-party audit was needed because third-party audits may not be working as expected
- Planning proposal
- Ministries and states were asked to explore common utility corridors where technically and economically feasible
- Other topics
- AgriStack under the Digital Agriculture Mission and prevention of cyber fraud, including digital arrests