- Why in news
- On 7 July 2026, the Union Ministry of Education released the reports on PGI 2.0 for States/UTs (PGI-S) and PGI for Districts (PGI-D) for 2025-26.
- What it is
- The Performance Grading Index is a tool of the Department of School Education & Literacy to grade school education performance. It places States/UTs in grade bands instead of strict ranks. It was later extended to the district level to track outcomes of education policies.
- Grading approach
- States/UTs are put in grades or levels, so several can share one performance band.
- Data sources
- PGI-S data come from UDISE+, PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024, PM POSHAN, PRABAND and Vidyanjali portals.
Don’t confuse with PGI-S vs PGI-D: PGI-S covers States/UTs with 1000 points and 2 categories; PGI-D covers districts with 600 points and 6 categories. Both have 70 indicators.
Reports and indices: 14 Prelims questions since 2013; they test who publishes a report and what it measures.
Why it matters
- Grading on outcomes and governance helps States find gaps and learn from each other.
- District-level scores support targeted local action.
Problems
- Heavy reliance on administrative data such as UDISE+ raises data-quality concerns.
- Grades alone do not ensure funds or capacity reach weak districts.
Way forward
- Independent verification of data and regular assessment of learning.
- Link grades to support for low-performing districts.
Put in your answer
Scale of school education: India has over 14.67 lakh schools, 1.03 crore teachers and nearly 24.72 crore students.
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UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: Index with 1000 points, 70 indicators and six domains. Reports are 14 of 327 Prelims questions, mostly background facts, so a question is unlikely.
Worth revising until Prelims 2028: most news questions come within two years of the event.