The Gujarat government has expanded its Sardar Patel Good Governance CM Fellowship Programme, increasing the number of fellows from 41 to 47 and scaling up projects from 20 to 45, with a clear mandate to plug gaps in the delivery of government schemes across sectors including healthcare, agriculture, nutrition, and urban development. The decision was announced on 29 October 2026 from Gandhinagar.

Key Expansion Details

The expansion was formalised through a resolution issued by the General Administration Department (GAD), which operates under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. Under the revised framework, the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) will serve as the programme's knowledge partner, with a senior faculty member appointed by the institute taking on a defined role in the initiative.

The fellowship is designed to bring young professionals with research and analytical skills into state administration for a period of one to two years, providing them practical exposure to government functioning while enabling departments to identify service delivery gaps.

Sectors and Projects Covered

The expanded programme now spans eight broad sectors: education, healthcare, nutrition, agriculture, social development, urban administration, environment, and public administration. Fellows will examine obstacles in scheme implementation, assess resource utilisation, and recommend operational improvements.

Among the specific focus areas are Anganwadi services, anaemia reduction, early childhood education, and interconnected library networks. The programme will also study the expansion of centralised kitchen facilities to strengthen the PM POSHAN Mid-Day Meal scheme and the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS).

In healthcare, fellows will investigate claim-related challenges under the PMJAY-MA scheme at government hospitals and analyse the utilisation of public health infrastructure. Agriculture-related projects will examine hurdles in rolling out natural farming practices and ensuring farmers receive entitled scheme benefits.

Technology and Governance Tools

Notably, the programme permits the use of artificial intelligence-based tools to classify information, prepare summaries, and flag key issues — though all AI-generated outputs must be verified against original documents and data before use. This marks a cautious but forward-looking integration of technology into state governance assessment.

Urban development projects will focus on improving civic services within the Rajkot Municipal Corporation, analysing complaint patterns to prevent recurrence and enabling proactive data-driven problem identification. In Bhavnagar, projects will address solid and wet waste recycling and resource reuse.

What the Programme Aims to Achieve

The broader goal is to generate evidence-based policy research and data analysis aligned with Gujarat's long-term development vision. Fellows will also evaluate the functioning of district-level committees, track follow-up on government decisions, and assess inter-departmental coordination. The findings are intended to streamline procedures, enhance operational efficiency, and provide departments with actionable recommendations. The expansion signals the Gujarat government's intent to institutionalise structured policy evaluation as a regular feature of its administrative machinery.