The National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (NRIDA) and the Indian Institute of Management Kolkata signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 29 September 2026 for a four-year longitudinal study of rural roads. The study will track roads built under PMGSY-IV and PM-JANMAN across 10 states and about 5,000 households to measure changes in income, access and welfare. It is the first long term, before and after comparison designed to show what new rural roads actually change in daily life.
What Is PMGSY?
PMGSY stands for Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme that gives all weather road connectivity to eligible unconnected rural habitations in India. The Ministry of Rural Development launched the scheme on 25 December 2000 to cut poverty through access to markets, schools and health care.
PMGSY is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme. This means the central government and the state government share the cost and the state government implements the work on the ground. From 2015 to 2016, the sharing pattern is 60 parts by the Centre and 40 parts by the State for most states. For North Eastern and Himalayan states, the share is 90 parts by the Centre and 10 parts by the State. Union Territories without legislatures receive full central funding.
The Ministry of Rural Development is the nodal ministry for PMGSY. The Ministry works through the National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (NRIDA), which was registered as a society on 14 January 2002 and is based in New Delhi. NRIDA gives technical and management support to states, sets design and quality standards, manages the Online Management, Monitoring and Accounting System (OMMAS) and the Electronic Maintenance of PMGSY Roads (e-MARG) platform, and guides State Rural Roads Development Agencies and District Programme Implementation Units.
The scheme has grown in clear phases. Each phase widened the goal from new connections to upkeep and then to links with services.
| Phase | Launch | Main Focus |
|---|---|---|
| PMGSY-I | 2000 | All weather new connectivity to eligible unconnected habitations |
| PMGSY-II | 2013 | Upgradation of selected Through Routes and Major Rural Links, target of 50,000 km |
| Road Connectivity Project for Left Wing Extremism Areas | 2016 | Roads in Left Wing Extremism affected districts for security and development |
| PMGSY-III | 2019 | Consolidation by upgradation of 1,25,000 km linking habitations to markets, schools and hospitals |
| PMGSY-IV | 11 September 2024 | New connectivity to about 25,000 habitations left out due to population growth |
Since launch, PMGSY has sanctioned about 8,25,114 km of rural roads and completed about 7,87,520 km. The scale makes it one of the largest rural infrastructure programmes in India and the reason a long term impact study is now needed.
PMGSY-IV: Connecting the Last Unconnected Habitations
The Union Finance Minister announced PMGSY-IV in the Budget Speech on 23 July 2024. The Union Cabinet approved the phase on 11 September 2024. The implementation period runs from financial year 2024 to 2025 to financial year 2028 to 2029.
PMGSY-IV aims to provide all weather connectivity to about 25,000 unconnected habitations that became eligible because their population grew after earlier phases. The total road length planned is 62,500 km with a total outlay of ₹70,125 crore, including a central share of ₹49,087.50 crore and a state share of ₹21,037.50 crore.
Eligibility is based on Census 2011 population. A habitation must be at least 500 metres away from an all weather road or a connected habitation, or 1.5 km of path distance in hills. The population cut offs are simple and fixed.
| Area Type | Population Eligibility Under PMGSY-IV |
|---|---|
| Plains | 500 and above |
| North Eastern and Hill States and Union Territories, Tribal Schedule V areas, Desert areas, Aspirational Blocks and Districts | 250 and above |
| Left Wing Extremism affected districts notified by the Ministry of Home Affairs | 100 and above |
PMGSY-IV also links habitations to nearby schools, health centres, markets and growth centres wherever possible. Roads already taken under PM-JANMAN and the Vibrant Villages Programme are not counted again under PMGSY-IV. States must sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Rural Development before submitting proposals. Procurement happens through e-procurement using the Standard Bidding Document set by NRIDA, and all roads carry a five year maintenance contract tracked through e-MARG.
What Is PM-JANMAN and How Does It Cover Roads?
PM-JANMAN stands for Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan. It is a mission for the social and economic development of 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) living in 18 states and one Union Territory. The Prime Minister launched the mission on 15 November 2023, on Janjatiya Gaurav Divas, from Khunti district in Jharkhand.
PM-JANMAN aims to give basic facilities to PVTG homes and hamlets within three years. These include safe housing, clean drinking water, better schools, health and nutrition, road and telecom links, power for unelectrified homes and steady livelihood support. The mission works through 11 critical interventions run by nine ministries. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is the nodal ministry for the whole mission, while road works are handled through the Ministry of Rural Development system.
The total budget outlay for PM-JANMAN is ₹24,104 crore for financial year 2023 to 2024 to financial year 2025 to 2026. The central share is ₹15,336 crore and the state share is ₹8,768 crore. The road part has an outlay of ₹8,000 crore for about 8,000 km of connecting roads, while housing has an outlay of about ₹11,711 crore. By late 2025, about 6,951.39 km of PM-JANMAN roads had been sanctioned and about 825 km had been completed.
PM-JANMAN roads follow PMGSY-I guidelines and NRIDA implements them. This choice keeps design, quality checks and monitoring common across both programmes. That is why the new impact study covers PMGSY-IV and PM-JANMAN roads together, as both aim at last mile habitations that stayed cut off for long.
The NRIDA and IIM Kolkata Agreement
NRIDA and IIM Kolkata signed the Memorandum of Understanding in New Delhi. Ms Aditi Singh, Director General of NRIDA (as of September 2026), signed for NRIDA. Prof. Alok Kumar Rai, Director of IIM Kolkata (as of September 2026), signed for the institute. Shri Rohit Kansal, Secretary of Rural Development (as of September 2026), was present with other officials of the Ministry and the institute.
IIM Kolkata is the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta. It was set up in November 1961 in collaboration with the MIT Sloan School of Management, the Government of West Bengal, the Ford Foundation and Indian industry. It was the first Indian Institute of Management, it is based at Joka in Kolkata, and it is now an Institute of National Importance under the Indian Institutes of Management Act, 2017. The institute brings research strength in economics, field surveys and data analysis to this partnership.
The agreement asks IIM Kolkata to run a comprehensive four-year longitudinal Impact Assessment Study. Longitudinal means the same habitations and homes are studied at two points in time, once before the road is built and once after the road is used. This method helps separate the effect of the road from other changes in the village. The collaboration will feed into programme review, outcome tracking, policy design and future planning for rural infrastructure.
How Will the Four-Year Longitudinal Study Work?
The study will cover 10 states and Union Territories, 50 districts, 150 blocks and 250 roads. The areas to be covered are Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Sikkim and Uttarakhand. The mix includes plains, hills, tribal areas and remote regions, so results can be compared across different settings.
The field work will survey about 5,000 households to record changes in travel, access and living conditions. The core method has two rounds of data collection in the same locations. The Baseline Survey, or pre-construction survey, records life before the road. The Endline Survey, or post-construction survey, records life after the road has been used for some time. The gap between the two rounds shows the change that the road brought.
| Stage | Duration | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Baseline Survey or Pre-Construction Survey | 14 months | Record travel time, cost, income, access to schools, health care and markets before the road |
| Transition Period | About 12 months | Allow road construction and early use |
| Endline Survey or Post-Construction Survey | 22 months | Measure the same homes again after the road to assess lasting change |
The study will measure travel time and transport cost, use of buses and personal vehicles, and access to jobs, farms, markets and non-farm work. It will also track school attendance, use of health centres, safety in travel, women’s mobility and empowerment, and access to banks and public services. Migration patterns, income diversification and household welfare will be studied over time and across regions and vulnerable groups.
Why This Impact Assessment Matters
A new road changes more than travel speed. When a village gets an all weather road, farmers can reach a Gramin Agricultural Market on time, children can reach a secondary school in all seasons, and patients can reach a hospital quickly. Daily wage workers can look for work outside the village and return the same day. These links raise income, cut isolation and reduce rural deprivation over years, not weeks.
The study will test if these gains last. It will check the quality and upkeep of roads, since PMGSY roads have a defect liability period of five years and maintenance is tracked on e-MARG. If a road breaks down early, travel costs rise again and benefits fade. By linking road condition to household outcomes, the study will show where upkeep works and where it needs stronger funding or supervision.
The findings will also help spot gaps in implementation. If some tribal hamlets, hill districts or Left Wing Extremism affected areas gain less, the study will record why. It will note problems in land, contractors, quality checks or last mile links to schools and health centres. Such evidence can guide fixes in guidelines, bidding documents, inspection by National Quality Monitors and convergence with power, water, telecom and livelihood schemes.
Key Takeaways
- NRIDA and IIM Kolkata signed an MoU on 29 September 2026 for a four-year longitudinal study of PMGSY-IV and PM-JANMAN roads.
- PMGSY was launched on 25 December 2000 and is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme under the Ministry of Rural Development.
- PMGSY-IV was approved on 11 September 2024 with an outlay of ₹70,125 crore to connect about 25,000 habitations through 62,500 km of roads by 2028 to 2029.
- PM-JANMAN was launched on 15 November 2023 for 75 PVTGs with an outlay of ₹24,104 crore, including about 8,000 km of roads.
- The study will cover 10 states, 50 districts, 150 blocks, 250 roads and 5,000 households through a 14 month baseline, 12 month transition and 22 month endline design.
