NEW DELHI, October 14 — The Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education, on Wednesday published the comprehensive report of the Performance Grading Index for Districts (PGI-D 2026), providing an exhaustive empirical evaluation of school education systems across all 742 districts nationwide.
According to the report's diagnostic framework, districts were appraised across 83 indicators aggregating 600 points divided into six core domains: Learning Outcomes, Effective Classroom Transactions, Infrastructure Facilities & Student Entitlements, School Safety & Child Protection, Digital Learning, and Governance Processes. Districts in Punjab, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat dominated the top 'Utkarsh' (scoring 81–90%) and 'Ati-Uttam' (71–80%) achievement tiers, while Aspirational Districts documented an 18 percent sequential improvement in functional secondary school science laboratories and separated sanitation facilities for girls.
Education Ministry officials explained that the PGI-D framework enables district collectors and chief education officers to identify granular learning deficits and deploy targeted pedagogical interventions financed under the Samagra Shiksha flagship programme and the PM SHRI (PM Schools for Rising India) scheme.
The architectural methodology of the Performance Grading Index (PGI for states and PGI-D for districts), structural components of the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, PM SHRI schools (upgrading 14,500 model schools aligned with NEP 2020), the National Achievement Survey (NAS), and fundamental rights under Article 21A (Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009) are essential topics across UPSC Civil Services (GS-II: Education, Social Sector & Governance) and State Education Service examinations.