Evaluate the role of MoSPI in ensuring accountability in the execution of large infrastructure projects in India.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), through its Infrastructure and Project Monitoring Division (IPMD), is the Centre's designated watchdog for all Central Sector projects costing ₹150 crore and above [1]. Its monthly Flash Reports make time and cost overruns publicly visible, and while this has strengthened transparency, MoSPI's accountability role remains largely informational rather than enforcing.

Strengths of MoSPI's accountability mechanism

• Comprehensive coverage: the Flash Report tracked 1,941 ongoing projects worth a revised ₹41.50 lakh crore across 17 Ministries/Departments as of March 2026, with cumulative expenditure of ₹19.93 lakh crore [2].
• Transparency by publication: monthly Flash Reports and the Quarterly Project Implementation Status Report place delays in the public domain, enabling parliamentary and media scrutiny [1].
• Digital modernisation: PAIMANA (Project Assessment, Infrastructure Monitoring & Analytics for Nation-building) has replaced the legacy OCMS-2006, creating a unified analytics-driven platform for real-time tracking [3].
• Reduced reporting friction: API integration with DPIIT's Integrated Project Monitoring Portal now updates about 60% of projects automatically, cutting manual entry errors [3].
• Prioritised oversight: classification into mega (≥₹1,000 crore) and major (₹150 crore–₹1,000 crore) projects focuses monitoring effort where capital is most concentrated [2].

Limitations

• Dependence on self-reporting by Line Ministries and implementing agencies leaves data quality hostage to agency compliance [1].
• No enforcement powers: MoSPI can report a delay but cannot sanction a defaulting agency or compel corrective action.
• Threshold exclusions leave numerous sub-₹150 crore and State-sector projects outside the reporting net [1].
• Persistent overruns despite decades of monitoring suggest reporting alone does not change execution behaviour.

MoSPI therefore functions as an effective diagnostic institution rather than a corrective one — indispensable for evidence, insufficient for enforcement. Linking PAIMANA's outputs to PM GatiShakti's planning layer and to ministry-level performance appraisal would convert visibility into consequence, advancing the capital-expenditure efficiency that India's infrastructure-led growth strategy depends on.