Glossary

The meaning of each term as used on this portal. The same words are used on every screen. Terms used in the assessment of progress are shown after signing in.

The scheme

PM Ekta Mall (Unity Mall): A building set up by a State/UT, usually in its capital or main tourist or business city, to display and sell its own One District One Product (ODOP) items, GI-tagged products and handicrafts, with space for the products of every other State and UT. Announced in the Union Budget 2023-24.
SASCI: Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment of the Department of Expenditure (Ministry of Finance). PM Ekta Malls are funded under it as 50-year interest-free loans to the States.
Sanctioned cost: The amount approved for the mall under SASCI, in ₹ crore.
1st / 2nd instalment: The SASCI money is released to the State in two parts of 50% each. The 2nd part is released after the State shows use of the 1st.
Funds used: Money actually spent on the mall so far, as reported by the State (₹ crore).
Utilisation certificate (UC): The State's certificate of the amount actually spent.
Baseline (27.10.2026): DPIIT's status of every mall as on 27.10.2026, reviewed in PRAGATI on 28.10.2026. The portal shows it until the State's first return.
PFMS / SASCI account: Public Financial Management System of the Government of India. The State keeps the SASCI money in an account linked with PFMS, so that releases and spending can be traced.
Interest credited: Interest earned on SASCI money while it lies in the State's account, as reported by DPIIT or the State.
Implementing agency: The State department or corporation that builds the mall (for example RIICO in Rajasthan, CIDCO in Maharashtra).

People

State/UT nodal officer: The senior officer named by the State/UT for its mall. Certifies and submits the State's return.
State project engineer: The officer of the executing agency who prepares the return. Cannot submit it.
Monitoring Officer: The officer named by DPIIT in the O.M. of 09.11.2026 for a mall (from DPIIT or a body under it: NPC, FDDI, NICDC, CPPRI). Checks the State's return on the desk or at the site.
Organisation coordinator: An officer at the headquarters of a monitoring body (e.g. NPC) who sees all malls monitored by that body.
DPIIT administrator: The DPIIT officer who runs the portal: opens reporting rounds, confirms categories and manages logins.
Viewer: A senior officer who sees the dashboard of all malls but does not enter data.

Reporting

Reporting round: A date "as on" which every mall reports, with a due date. Proposed: every 15 days until the PMO review, then every month.
Return (self-assessment): The State's report on its mall for one reporting round: progress and funds, category questions, stage table, issues and photographs.
Certify and submit: The State nodal officer confirms that the return is correct as per the records and sends it to the Monitoring Officer. After that it cannot be changed unless sent back.
Sent back: The Monitoring Officer returns the return to the State with remarks, for correction and fresh submission.
Returns and validations: The list of the mall's returns, one for each reporting round, with the Monitoring Officer's check of each.
Due date: The last date for submitting the return of a reporting round.

Categories and stages

Category (A to E): The group a mall is placed in according to how far it has reached; each category has its own questions and photographs. A: Pre-construction. B: Early construction (below 30%). C: Main construction (30% to 79%). D: Finishing and approvals (80% to 99%). E: Completed, to be opened and run. The portal proposes the category; DPIIT confirms it.
Stage: One of 26 steps in the life of a mall, from land and DPR to the mall opening to the public. Every mall has the same list.
Stage table: The list of 26 stages of a mall with, for each: status, per cent done, planned date, actual date and tentative completion date.
Compulsory stages: The stages that matter most in the mall's present category. They must be filled in every return; the others are updated when they change.
Planned date: The date by which a stage was to be completed under the approved schedule.
Actual date: The date on which a stage was actually completed.
Tentative completion date: For a stage not yet completed: the date by which it is now expected to be completed.
Stage status: Not started, In progress, Completed, or Not applicable (the stage does not apply to this mall).
Per cent done: For a stage in progress: the share of that stage completed, as assessed by the State engineer.

Progress

Physical progress: How much of the construction work is done, in per cent of the whole, as measured by the executing agency.
Progress reported by the State: The physical progress given in the State's latest return (until then, DPIIT's baseline).
Planned progress: The physical progress that should have been reached by the return date under the approved schedule.
Progress verified at site: The physical progress seen by the Monitoring Officer on a field visit.
Likely completion: The date by which construction is now expected to be completed, as assessed by the State.
Average progress: The simple average of the latest physical progress of the malls shown (each mall counts equally, whatever its cost).
Progress chart: A line chart of the mall's physical progress at each reporting round: planned progress, progress reported by the State and progress verified at site.

Verification

Desk check: The Monitoring Officer checks a return from its documents and photographs, without a visit.
Field visit: The Monitoring Officer checks a return at the site, takes own photographs and records the progress seen.
Agreed / Partly agreed / Not agreed: The Monitoring Officer's finding on each of the five parts of a return. A remark is required unless fully agreed.

Photographs

Fixed photo point: A view (for example "front view from the gate") photographed from the same spot in every return, so that progress can be compared over time.
Geo-tagged photograph: A photograph taken in the portal's camera screen. The phone's location and the time are recorded at that moment and printed on the photograph.
Site point: The location of the mall's main gate, recorded once by the Monitoring Officer at the first visit. Later photographs are checked for distance from it.
Photo alert: A note on a photograph that needs a second look: no location, poor location accuracy, taken far from the site, sent long after it was taken, an older picture (possibly from the gallery), or the phone clock not matching.
Photo timeline: All photographs of the mall, newest first, from the State and the Monitoring Officer, with any photo alerts.

Issues

Issue: Anything holding up the work, recorded with its type, who must act and a target date. It stays open until marked resolved.
Action by: Who must act to resolve an issue: the contractor, the State department, DPIIT, the Department of Expenditure or another body.

Records

Trail: The permanent record of every action on the portal: who did what, when and from which address. It cannot be changed or deleted.
Mall profile: Facts about the mall taken from DPIIT's status papers of 27.10.2026 and public sources, with the source named on each line.
Public record: Items about the mall from official websites and the press, shown with their source for background. They are not verified by the portal.

Technical words in the questions

DPR: Detailed Project Report: the approved design, cost and schedule of the mall.
Work order: The order to the contractor to start the work; the contract period runs from it.
EPC: Engineering, Procurement and Construction: one contractor designs, buys and builds (turnkey).
PMC: Project Management Consultant engaged to supervise the work for the owner.
MEP: Mechanical, electrical and plumbing works: power, fire-fighting, air-conditioning, lifts, water and drainage.
Long-lead items: Equipment that takes months to make and deliver (transformers, lifts and escalators, chillers, fire pumps) and must be ordered early.
Hindrance register: The site record of every hold-up, its cause and its duration; the basis for extensions of time.
Fire NOC: No-objection certificate from the fire department; needed before occupation.
Occupancy Certificate (OC): Permission from the local authority to occupy and use the building; the mall cannot open without it.
Operator / concession: The agency that will run the mall, and the agreement under which it does so (for example, revenue sharing for 30 years).