Union Ministry of Education Releases Report on Performance Grading Index 2.0 for States/UTs (PGI-S) and Performance Grading Index for Districts (PGI-D) for 2025-26

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Performance Grading Index 2.0 for States/UTs (PGI-S) & Performance Grading Index for Districts (PGI-D) — 2025-26

1. At a Glance

PGI-S and PGI-D are diagnostic, evidence-based grading tools of the Department of School Education & Literacy (DoSE&L), Union Ministry of Education, used to evaluate school education performance of States/UTs and districts respectively on a common set of parameters [S1].
The 2025-26 reports were released on 7 July 2026 by the Ministry of Education [S1].
Covers an education system with >14.67 lakh schools, ~1.03 crore teachers, ~24.72 crore students [S1].
UPSC relevance: recurring governance/education-policy current-affairs item, tests knowledge of index structure, indicators, and data sources (UDISE+, PARAKH).

2. Why in the News

Union Ministry of Education released the Report on PGI 2.0 for States/UTs (PGI-S) and PGI for Districts (PGI-D) for the year 2025-26 on 7 July 2026 [S1].

3. Background & Evolution

PGI (States/UTs) first devised to categorize States/UTs into grades based on school education performance; PGI 2.0 is the revised/upgraded version of the original index [S1].
PGI-D: first-ever report released for 2018-19 & 2019-20 [S3]; a combined report was subsequently released for 2020-21 & 2021-22 [S2].
Rationale: extend the State-level grading exercise downward to the district level to enable decentralized, granular diagnosis of gaps in school education [S3].
Evolution shows a shift in focus from input/process indicators toward outcome measurement (e.g., learning outcomes via PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan) [S1].

4. Core Static Facts

Parameter	PGI-S (2025-26)	PGI-D (2025-26)
Total weightage	1,000 points [S1]	600 points [S1]
No. of indicators	70 [S1]	70 [S1]
Categories	2 — Outcome; Governance & Management [S1]	6 categories [S3]
Domains	6 — Learning Outcomes & Quality, Access, Infrastructure & Facilities, Equity, Governance Processes, Teachers Education & Training [S1]	11 — Learning Outcomes and Quality, Access Outcomes, Teacher Availability & Professional Development Outcomes, Learning Management, Learning Enrichment Activities, Infrastructure/Facilities/Student Entitlements, School Safety & Child Protection, Digital Learning, Funds Convergence & Utilisation, Attendance Monitoring Systems, School Leadership Development [S1]
Data sources	UDISE+, PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024, PM POSHAN Portal, PRABAND Portal, Vidyanjali Portal [S1]	UDISE+, PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024, PRABANDH Portal [S1]
Implementing body	Dept. of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education [S1]	Dept. of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education [S1]
Highest/lowest grade (historical PGI-D scale)	—	Daksh (>90% of points) to Akanshi-3 (up to 10%) [S3]
Original PGI-D structure (2018-19 baseline)	—	600 points, 83 indicators, 6 categories: Outcomes, Effective Classroom Transaction, Infrastructure Facilities & Student's Entitlements, School Safety & Child Protection, Digital Learning, Governance Process [S3]

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

Social/Equity: Dedicated Equity domain in PGI-S tracks disparities across gender, social category, and access; PGI-D's outcome domains similarly test inclusion in learning access [S1].
Administrative/Federalism: Index enables Centre-State comparative benchmarking without ranking hierarchy conflict — States are placed in grade levels/bands, not a strict rank order, respecting federal sensitivities in education (a Concurrent List subject) [S1].
Governance/Accountability: Separate Governance & Management (PGI-S) and Governance Process (PGI-D) categories institutionalize monitoring of processes like fund utilization, digital learning adoption, teacher training [S1].
Scientific/Technological: Reliance on digital data platforms (UDISE+, PRABAND/PRABANDH) and the PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan national learning-outcome survey reflects a data-driven, tech-enabled evaluation architecture [S1].
Economic: Findings feed into resource-allocation and scheme design (e.g., Samagra Shiksha) by flagging low-performing domains for targeted funding.

6. Recent Developments (last 12-18 months)

7 July 2026: PGI-S and PGI-D reports for 2025-26 released [S1].
Prior editions released for 2021-22 (PGI-S, PGI 2.0) and 2020-21 & 2021-22 combined (PGI-D) [S4][S2].

7. Prelims Hooks

PGI-S and PGI-D are administered by the Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education (not NCERT or NITI Aayog) [S1].
PGI-S 2025-26: 1,000 total points, 70 indicators, 2 categories, 6 domains [S1].
PGI-D 2025-26: 600 total points, 70 indicators, 11 domains [S1].
PGI-D was first released for the years 2018-19 and 2019-20 [S3].
The original (2018-19) PGI-D used 83 indicators; the domain count later evolved to 11 by 2025-26 [S3][S1].
Highest grade band in PGI-D (historical): "Daksh" (score >90%); lowest: "Akanshi-3" (score up to 10%) [S3].
Key data sources for PGI-S/PGI-D: UDISE+, PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan, PRABANDH/PRABAND Portal, PM POSHAN Portal, Vidyanjali Portal [S1].
India's school education scale (as cited in the 2025-26 release): >14.67 lakh schools, ~1.03 crore teachers, ~24.72 crore students [S1].
"PGI 2.0" refers specifically to the revised States/UTs index (not districts) [S1].
A combined PGI-D report for 2020-21 & 2021-22 was released together (pandemic-year clubbing) [S2].

8. Mains Relevance

GS-II: Government policies & interventions for development in the education sector; issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services (Education); federal cooperation in Concurrent List subjects.
GS-III: Human resource development indices as inputs to inclusive growth.
Possible question stems: 1. "Discuss the significance of outcome-based grading indices like PGI-S and PGI-D in improving accountability in India's school education system. What are their limitations?" 2. "Examine how data platforms such as UDISE+ and PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan have transformed education governance monitoring in India." 3. "Critically analyse the shift from input-based to outcome-based indicators in school education performance evaluation in India."

9. Related Topics to Study Next

UDISE+ — the underlying data platform feeding PGI indicators.
PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan — national achievement survey providing learning-outcome data.
Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan — umbrella scheme whose funding/implementation ties to PGI findings.
National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 — policy framework shaping outcome-based reforms reflected in PGI 2.0.
PM POSHAN Scheme — one of the data-source portals for PGI-S nutrition/access indicators.
RTE Act, 2009 — foundational access/equity legal framework relevant to PGI's Access/Equity domains.
Cooperative federalism in social-sector governance — conceptual link to how Centre grades States without infringing on State subject autonomy.

10. Common Errors / Trap Areas

Confusing PGI-S (States/UTs) with PGI-D (Districts) — different point totals (1,000 vs 600) and domain counts (6 vs 11) [S1].
Assuming PGI ranks States/UTs numerically — it actually places them in grade bands/levels, not a strict 1-to-N ranking [S1].
Misattributing implementation to NITI Aayog or NCERT instead of the correct body: Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education [S1].
Mixing up the indicator count across editions — PGI-D began with 83 indicators (2018-19) but the 2025-26 edition uses 70 [S3][S1].
Forgetting that PGI-D's first report covered two years (2018-19 & 2019-20) combined, not a single year [S3].

11. Sources

[S1] Union Ministry of Education Releases Report on Performance Grading Index 2.0 for States/UTs (PGI-S) and Performance Grading Index for Districts (PGI-D) for 2025-26 — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2282148 — (tier: 1)
[S2] Ministry of Education releases combined report on Performance Grading Index for Districts (PGI-D) for the year 2020-21 & 2021-22 — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1938299 — (tier: 1)
[S3] Ministry of Education releases first ever report on Performance Grading Index for Districts (PGI-D) for the year 2018-19 and 2019-20 — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1837313&reg=3&lang=2 — (tier: 1)
[S4] Ministry of Education releases report on Performance Grading Index 2.0 for States/UTs for the year 2021-22 — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1937945 — (tier: 1)