National Panchayati Raj Day

The Constitution of India recognizes Panchayats as 'Institutions of self government'. Currently, there are nearly 2.63 lakh Panchayats & about 31.47 lakh elected representatives (ERs) of PRIs of which 14.54 lakh (about 46.20%) are women. The Constitution empowers the States to devolve powers to the Panchayats to discharge their functions as institutions for local self-governance. Under the 15^th Finance Commission for the period 2021-26, Rs. 2,36,805 Crore has been recommended for rural local bodies (RLBs)/ panchayats. 

Background

Though the Panchayati Raj Institutions have been in existence for a long time, it has been observed that these institutions have not been able to acquire the status and dignity of viable and responsive people's bodies due to a number of reasons including absence of regular elections, prolonged super sessions, insufficient representation of weaker sections like Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women, inadequate devolution of powers and lack of financial resources.

The Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 that came into force with effect from 24^th April, 1993 has vested constitutional status on Panchayati Raj institutions. This date thus marks a defining moment in the history of decentralization of political power to the grassroots level. The impact of the 73rd Amendment in rural India is very visible as it has changed power equations irreversibly.

Accordingly, the Government of India decided in consultation with the States to celebrate 24th April as National Panchayati Raj Day. The commemoration is being anchored by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.

The National Panchayati Raj Day (NPRD) is being celebrated on 24 April since 2010.

National Panchayati Raj Day 2024

The Ministry of Panchayati Raj celebrates National Panchayati Raj Day on April 24, 2024. A National Colloquium on Grassroots Governance is organised to mark National Panchayati Raj Day.

The National Colloquium on Grassroots Governance aims to facilitate dialogue and collaboration among stakeholders, including officials from Central and State Governments, NIRD&PR, faculty members from SIRD&PRs, academicians, subject matter experts, representatives of UN Agencies, and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). Key topics of discussion will include the role of digital technology in transforming public service delivery, initiatives of MoPR aimed at transforming Panchayat Governance, and the convergence of digital governance initiatives of various Ministries/ Departments.

This one-day Colloquium offers a unique platform to assess achievements, identify challenges, and explore opportunities for enhancing grassroots governance and public service delivery through Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). Discussions will focus on the evolution of principles of Good Governance in rural areas and pathways for strengthening PRIs as vehicles for effective public service delivery. 

As a third tier of government and the primary interface between the union government and rural communities, Panchayats play a crucial role in promoting Ease of Living and Ease of Doing Business in rural India. The Ministry’s digital initiatives are instrumental in promoting self-reliance, creating sustainable livelihoods, supporting inclusive development and advancing Localization of Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs) across Gram Panchayats nationwide.

The National Colloquium on Grassroots Governance holds particular significance as it coincides with three decades of the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act and two decades since the creation of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. 

National Panchayat Awards

Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR), Government of India has been incentivizing the best performing Panchayats recommended by the State Governments/UT Administrations since 2011-12. During the National Panchayat Raj Day event, the following awards are being given to the best performing Panchayats.

• Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar (DDUPSP) - is given to best performing Panchayats (District, Intermediate and Gram Panchayat) across the States/UTs in recognition of the good work that is done by PRIs at each level for improving delivery of services and public goods. 
  Nine thematic categories for GPs are Sanitation, Civic Services (Drinking Water, Street Light, infrastructure), Natural Resource Management, Marginalized section (Women, SC/ST, Disabled, Senior Citizen), Social Sector performance, Disaster Management, Community Based Organizations/Individuals taking voluntary actions to support GPs, Innovation in Revenue Generation and e-Governance.
• Nanaji Deshmukh Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha Puraskar (NDRGGSP) is given to Gram Panchayats/Village Councils for their outstanding contribution to the socio-economic development by involving Gram Sabhas. 
• Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) Award: is given to Gram Panchayat/ Village Council which has developed its GPDP according to the State/UT specific guidelines prepared in line with the model guidelines issued by MoPR. 
• Child-friendly Gram Panchayat Award is given to best performing Gram Panchayat/Village Council for adopting child-friendly practices. 

To know more about the National Panchayat Awards, click here.

Revamped NPA 

National Panchayat Award themes

Based on the "Localization of Sustainable Development Goals", the following nine themes are being followed.

1. Poverty free and enhanced livelihoods Panchayat
2. Healthy Panchayat
3. Child friendly Panchayat
4. Water sufficient Panchayat
5. Clean and Green Panchayat
6. Self-sufficient infrastructure in Panchayat
7. Socially secured Panchayat
8. Panchayat with good governance
9. Women-friendly Panchayat (earlier termed Engendered development in Panchayat

Categories of Awards

Under the revamped system, the Awards will be given to Gram, Block and District Panchayats in two categories namely,

• Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar (for individual theme-wise performance) and
• Nanaji Deshmukh Sarvottam Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar (for aggregate performance under all the themes).

Apart from this, some special categories of awards will be given to Gram Panchayats (GPs) namely,

• Gram Urja Swaraj Vishesh Panchayat Puraskar for adoption and usage of renewable sources of energy;
• Carbon Neutral Vishesh Panchayat Puraskar for exemplary work towards achieving Net-Zero carbon emissions;
• Nanaji Deshmukh Sarvottam Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar for GPs which qualify and get shortlisted for National Panchayat Awards during the subsequent years also;
• Panchayat Kshamta Nirmaan Sarvottam Sansthan Puraskar for Institutions which have provided institutional support to GPs in achieving LSDGs and
• Best Participating State/UT/District/Block Panchayat.

Towards the endeavour of a successful implementation of the revamped National Panchayat Awards, MoPR is collaborating with nodal Central Ministries/Departments namely, Rural Development, Health & Family Welfare, Women & Child Development, Drinking Water & Sanitation, Social Justice & Empowerment and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. These nodal Ministries would be leading the Thematic Selection Committees for selection of National Level Awards on the concerned themes and the other line Ministries/Departments would be the members of these Committees.

To access the revamped NPA guidelines, click here.

Source : Ministry of Panchayati Raj

Related resources

1. List of Panchayats selected for 2023 awards