The Ministry of Panchayati Raj will be celebrating National Panchayat Awards Week during 17^th – 21^st April, 2023 as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) 2.0 in the run-up to the National Panchayati Raj Day (24^th April, 2023). To celebrate this monumental occasion in the right spirit and in line with the AKAM 2.0 directives of adopting “whole-of-society” and “whole-of-government” approach as well as enhancing the outreach of AKAM 2.0 to touch the lives of every Indian, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj has conceptualized a series of Thematic Conferences for the National Panchayat Awards Week on the theme “Panchayaton ke Sankalpon ki Siddhi ka Utsav” (पंचायतों के संकल्पों की सिद्धि का उत्सव) where the representatives of high performing Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) will not only receive their coveted Awards but will also deliberate and discuss their achievements in the presence of other stakeholders that can set examples for others to follow.

The five-day National Panchayat Awards Week will commence with organizing ‘National Conference on Incentivization of Panchayats-cum-Award Ceremony’ in New Delhi tomorrow. The President of India has very kindly accorded her consent to inaugurate ‘National Conference on Incentivization of Panchayats-cum-Award Ceremony’ on 17^th April, 2023 to flag off the National Panchayat Awards Week, confer the National Panchayat Awards and address the august gathering on this occasion. The National Conference on Incentivization of Panchayats-cum-Award Ceremony is expected to witness participation of more than 1,500 delegates from across the country.

Union Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Shri Giriraj Singh, Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj Shri Kapil Moreshwar Patil and Union Minister of State for Rural Development Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste will grace the occasion with their august presence. Shri Sunil Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Shri (Dr.) Chandra Shekhar Kumar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj and other Senior Officers of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj will also be present on the occasion. State Panchayati Raj Ministers, Senior Officers of line Ministries / Departments and Panchayati Raj Department of States/UTs, NIRD&PR, SIRD&PRs and elected representatives and functionaries of Panchayats have also been invited to participate in the National Conference on Incentivization of Panchayats-cum-Award Ceremony. Following this, four days of deliberations on achievements made so far and way forward on the Localization of Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs) to take place through National Conferences at C. Subramaniam Auditorium, NASC Complex, Pusa, New Delhi. Details of National Conferences planned during National Panchayat Awards Week to commemorate Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav 2.0 are given as under:

The Awardee Panchayats under various categories of National Panchayat Awards–2023 namely, (i) Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar (DDUPSVP) for the performance under individual LSDG themes, (ii) Nanaji Deshmukh Sarvottam Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar (NDSPSVP) for the aggregate performance under all 9 LSDG themes and green initiative related Special Categories of (iii) Gram Urja Swaraj Vishesh Panchayat Puraskar and (iv) Carbon Neutral Vishesh Panchayat Puraskar will be felicitated and the award money will be transferred digitally to the Awardee Panchayats on this occasion. A booklet on ‘Best Practices on Works of Awardee Panchayats’ would be released by Shri Giriraj Singh, Hon’ble Union Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj and the first copy of the booklet will be presented to the Hon’ble President of India.

To further strengthen Gram Sabha for ensuring participatory democracy and making empowered people and accountable Panchayats, a new mobile application GS NIRNAY, National Initiative for Rural India to Navigate, InnovAte and Resolve PanchaYat decisions has been developed to record and upload Gram Sabha proceedings open for public view. The app Gram Sabha NIRNAY would be launched on this occasion by Shri Giriraj Singh, Hon’ble Union Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj. The recordings made through the GS NIRNAY app will provide a means of verification of facts where necessary or in case of queries that may arise regarding the resolutions undertaken during the Gram Sabha. This would bring in more transparency and increase efficiency in the functioning of Panchayats, which play a vital role in decentralized participatory democracy as enshrined in the 73^rd Constitutional Amendment. The app will also serve as a valuable repository of information for future reference.

During the Inaugural Function of National Panchayat Awards Week, State Panchayati Raj Ministers will be sharing views, ideas, strategies and preparedness of the States towards the noble goal of attainment of Sustainable Development Goals and achievements made so far. The series of Conferences during National Panchayat Awards Week will serve as an august platform to share various initiatives undertaken by the Central and State Governments towards this end.

Live webcast of Inaugural Function of National Panchayat Awards Week will be available from Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi at 11:00 AM onwards on 17^th April, 2023 at webcast link: https://webcast.gov.in/mopr. Live webcast of Thematic National Conferences from 18^th to 21^st April, 2023 will also be available at 10 AM onwards on the same link [https://webcast.gov.in/mopr].

During the remaining days of the National Panchayat Awards Week, a series of Thematic Conferences will showcase the convergence of the views, ideas, opinions, preparedness, technological interventions, success stories, best practices and cutting-edge insights of all stake-holders towards Localization of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through Panchayati Raj Institutions. An active, consistent and enthusiastic participation from all delegates in the five-day celebration of National Panchayat Awards Week will greatly facilitate and accelerate the process of localizing and achieving the SDGs in rural India, and will also help nudge other Panchayats towards achieving larger goals. Numerous well performing Panchayats recognized at District, State and National levels through the process of Revamped National Panchayat Awards, which have done remarkable works in making the Panchayats poverty free, healthy, child and women friendly, water sufficient, clean and green, self-sufficient infrastructure, socially just and secured and good governed Panchayats, will share their experiences, key achievements, roadmap for sustainability with the representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions from across the country.

Background:

Since commencement of the official journey of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav on 12^th March, 2021 which started a 75-week countdown to 75^th Anniversary of India’s Independence, Ministry of Panchayati Raj has been making sincere efforts to create awareness among rural masses about Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) through taking onboard Panchayati Raj Departments of States/UTs to ensure active involvement of Panchayati Raj Institutions. In the second year of AKAM celebrations (AKAM 2.0), it has been envisaged to enhance the outreach of this programme even further to touch the lives of every Indian. The emphasis is on high Jan Bhagidari and public participation, and the new approach is to organise long term campaigns on themes that articulate the vision of new India and resonate with every Indian.

With active participation of the Panchayati Raj Institutions in undertaking different activities as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, it has been possible to reach out to rural masses and sensitize them about the importance and objectives of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has also made concerted efforts to create a suitable, conducive and positive environment for Localization of Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs) through Panchayati Raj Institutions in rural India, and has been successful in disseminating the concept of Sustainable Development Goals among the rural masses – giving wings to the dreams and aspirations of rural India.

Ministry of Panchayati Raj has been at the forefront in Localisation of Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs) through Panchayati Raj Institutions in rural areas, and the Ministry of Panchayati Raj is continuously playing an important role in bringing together multiple stakeholders, setting clear strategic targets and in catalyzing the technical assistance of United Nations organizations to localize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in rural areas.

In response to clarion call given by the Prime Minister, the Panchayati Raj Institutions have started working towards setting Panchayat-specific targets, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the right way and achieving the SDGs through localised strategy and a holistic Panchayat Development Plan and its proper implementation.

Incentivization of Panchayats scheme is one of the central components of Centrally Sponsored scheme of revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA). Under this scheme, ‘National Panchayat Awards’ are given to the best performing Panchayats, including financial incentives for award winning Panchayats, in recognition of their performances under various priority sectors/themes. Last year, the format, procedures and categories of the National Panchayat Awards were revised comprehensively to establish a multi-level competition aligning with the nine themes of LSDGs. It was envisioned that this will help in accelerating the pace of attainment of LSDGs. The initiatives which have been steered so far have yielded positive outcomes. Accordingly, this year’s National Panchayat Awards will be conferred for outstanding works in various thematic areas in making the Panchayats poverty free, healthy, child and women friendly, water sufficient, clean and green, self-sufficient infrastructure, socially just and secured and good governed Panchayats. Taking forward the vision of the Hon’ble Prime Minister of making India a self-reliant nation, the concerted efforts of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj to incentivize Panchayats based on their exemplary performance in nine thematic areas of LSDGs will supplement and accelerate progress towards achieving LSDGs targets for creation of self-reliant Panchayats to meet the United Nations 2030 Agenda.

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PK