Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India is organizing Two-Days National Writeshop on Panchayat Development Index Portal for Preparation of Baseline Report and Computation of Panchayat Development Index from 10^th August to 11^th August 2023 at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi. The Two-Days National Writeshop aims at emphasizing the prominence of the Baseline Report for setting the local actions on measurable dimensions to achieve the local targets towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals in rural areas.

Opening the writeshop, Shri Sunil Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj enlightened the participants by underscoring the policy framework for baseline report and PDI portal for computation of PDI, highlighting the landmark initiatives undertaken by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj to localize the Sustainable Development Goals, enabling to scale up the visibility of holistic development at all levels to strengthen grassroots democracy. Shri Sunil Kumar, Secretary, MoPR provided an overview of how the Panchayat Development Index will solve the issues and challenges related to proper monitoring of the developmental activities at PRIs level. Shri Sunil Kumar, Secretary, MoPR highlighted the role of data analytics, further mentioning how academic institutions/ research organizations can use data analytics information for research work, and thanked all the States/UTs for the support they have rendered so far.

Shri Sunil Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj said that PDI Report, released on 28^th June 2023, illustrates the mechanisms for computation of Panchayat Development Index based on the local indicators of 9 themes, its data sources and monitoring mechanisms that would empower Local Government as well as the Block and District Administration and the State Governments to objectively assess the performance of these grassroots level Institutions and thereby make plans based on evidence from PDI to achieve Sustainable Development Goals.

Delivering his address, Dr. Chandra Shekhar Kumar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj underlined the significance of the PDI baseline report in National Panchayat Awards and Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP), saying that it is expected that this report will lay the foundation for a nationwide quantified evaluation and monitoring mechanism that would encourage Local Governments to charter their paths to achieve the SDGs, making their actions more accountable & transparent. He further mentioned this Write-Shop will provide an opportunity for everyone present in the Writeshop to learn from the experience of the pilot conducted by the States/UTs and MoPR Team and will also provide an opportunity to learn through hands-on practice to operate the portal developed for PDI.

Shri Vikas Anand, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj set the context of the National Writeshop by presenting an overview of institutional mechanisms to roll out PDI as an instrument to monitor the progress of Localization of Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs) in rural areas. Shri Vikas Anand, Joint Secretary, MoPR said that Panchayat Development Index will serve as Common Property Resource, and will help States/UTs in comparing District Panchayats and Block Panchayats for prioritizing development.

Shri Vikas Anand, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj said that Panchayat Development Index will serve as a tool for incentivisation exercise by MoPR; it will help States/UTs to develop evidence-based system for Incentivisation of Panchayats, and it will also help in carrying out intensive Capacity Building & Training exercise. Shri Vikas Anand, Joint Secretary, MoPR informed that PDI will be calculated on 577 Local Indicators on 9 Themes, 144 Local Targets and 688 unique data points to monitor the progress of LSDGs.

Smt. Mamta Varma, Joint Secretary, MoPR, Dr. Bijaya Kumar Behera, Economic Adviser, MoPR, Shri Ramit Maurya, Director, MoPR, Smt. Malti Rawat, Director, MoPR and senior officers from line Ministries / Departments and NITI Aayog attended the National Writeshop. More than 375 representatives from Central Ministries/ Departments and almost all States/ UTs comprising State Departments of Panchayati Raj & Rural Development, Planning, Monitoring & Implementation, Women & Child Development, Health & Family Welfare, School Education and Public Health Engineering, National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj (NIRD&PR), State Institutes of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj (SIRD&PRs), Knowledge Partners, UN agencies, NIC and other key stakeholders are participating in the Writeshop.

Shri Sunil Jain, DDG, NIC made presentation on “PDI Portal: Architecture, Functionality and Workflow”, whereas Shri Ram Pratap, Director, MoPR gave a presentation on Mechanisms of Data Validation.

State/UT Teams conducted brainstorming group exercises on the first day of the Two Days National Write-Shop on Panchayat Development Index Portal for the Preparation of Baseline Report and Computation of PDI, over the hand-holding of the PDI portal for Baseline report and PDI computation.

The first day of Two-Day National Write-Shop on the Panchayat Development Index Portal for Preparation of Baseline Report and Computation of PDI provided a platform for insightful knowledge sharing under diverse topics including field experience on validation of data resources, mechanisms of data validation, demonstration of PDI portal, and presentation/discussion on indicators across themes, with Mentors assigned with the States/UTs to provide support in PDI portal and concluding with State/UT teams on hand-holding PDI portal for baseline report and PDI computation.

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