The Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India in collaboration with the Government of Madhya Pradesh is commemorating National Panchayati Raj Day (NPRD) on 24^th April, 2023 at Rewa in Madhya Pradesh as a major event as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) – Samaaveshi Vikaas (Inclusive Development) adopting Whole-of-the-Government approach. The Prime Minister will be the Chief Guest at the national function to be organised at Special Armed Forces Ground, Rewa, Madhya Pradesh. He will address the elected representatives and functionaries of Panchayati Raj Institutions as well as Special Gram Sabhas across the country on this momentous occasion.

The Prime Minister will inaugurate an integrated e-GramSwaraj and GeM portal for public procurement at Panchayat level. The objective of eGramSwaraj–GeM Integration is to enable the Panchayats to procure their goods and services through GeM leveraging the eGramSwaraj platform. The launch of eGramSwaraj – GeM Integration at the hands of the Prime Minister will encourage Panchayats to usher in the digital revolution where they would have the access to an easy-to-use procurement and payment platform. Launch by PM Modi will encourage both the Panchayats and local sellers to adopt this initiative which in turn will help the entire buyer-seller ecosystem to flourish thereby giving a major boost to rural economy and entrepreneurship along with strengthening the Digital India Program.

The Prime Minister will hand over SVAMITVA Property Card to select beneficiaries, symbolizing attainment of milestone of 1.25 crore property cards distribution under SVAMITVA Scheme in the country. Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) Campaign for theme “Inclusive Development” – “Samaaveshi Vikas” will also be launched by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. A dedicated website and Mobile App on “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav – SAMAAVESHI VIKAS” will be launched by Prime Minister. SVAMITVA – Meri Sampatti, Mera Haq campaign under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav – Samaaveshi Vikas – Inclusive Development theme aims to generate 1.50 crore “Records of Rights”/ Property Cards under SVAMITVA Scheme by August 2023. The national launch of the 9 Campaigns under “Inclusive Development” theme of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav named “विकास की ओर साझे क़दम”covering 5 Ministries/ Departments viz. MoRD, MoPR, MoA&FW, MoH&FW and MoFAH&D is aimed to celebrate the people's participation in saturation of people-centric schemes.

Prime Minister will conduct the ‘Griha Pravesh’ (ceremony performed when entering one’s new house) of more than 4 lakh beneficiaries under Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana–Gramin (PMAY–G). At present 4.11 lakh houses are ready for Griha Pravesh programme. Prime Minister will attend Ground-breaking ceremony of projects worth about Rs.7,000 crore under Jal Jeevan Mission. Bhoomi Poojan of various works under Jal Jeevan Mission in Rewa District will be performed on this occasion. Prime Minister will flag-off Rewa – Itwari Train and dedicate other Railway Projects to the Nation.

Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Giriraj Singh, Union Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste, Union Minister of State for Rural Development, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Union Minister of State for Rural Development, Shri Kapil Moreshwar Patil, Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj, Shri Mahendra Singh Sisodia, Panchayat and Rural Development Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Ram Khelawan Patel, Minister of State for Panchayat and Rural Development, Madhya Pradesh, Shri Iqbal Singh Bains, Chief Secretary, Government of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Sunil Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Shri Shailesh Kumar Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development, Shri Malay Shrivastava, Additional Chief Secretary, Panchayat and Rural Development Department, Government of Madhya Pradesh and other dignitaries and public representatives and senior officers of the Government of India and Government of Madhya Pradesh will be present on this occasion. This year’s celebration of National Panchayati Raj Day is expected to witness participation of more than one lakh participants, including representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions, other stakeholders and local residents / rural masses.

An exhibition with different thematic stalls showcasing initiatives and achievements under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin), Swachh Bharat Mission – Gramin (SBM-G), Amrit Sarovar, Madhya Pradesh State Rural Livelihood Mission, Rural Tourism Development (Home Stay), SVAMITVA, Jal Jeevan Mission and other programmes will also be set up at the venue of national function of NPRD–2023 for the benefit of the general public.

National Panchayati Raj Day will serve as an important occasion as well as a significant step towards creating awareness and building momentum for India@2047 and also building institutional, individual, institutional, cross-organizational and operational capabilities for achieving the global SDGs agenda in local context by 2030. Ministry of Panchayati Raj has requested all State/ UT Departments of Panchayati Raj to take necessary steps to advise the Gram Panchayats to convene Special Gram Sabha on 24^th April, 2023 to mark National Panchayati Raj Day and make elaborate arrangements to enable the participants in the meetings of Gram Sabha on 24^th April, 2023 to watch the proceedings of the National Panchayati Raj Day (NPRD) function which will be graced by the presence of Prime Minister. The proceedings of NPRD–2023 event at Rewa, Madhya Pradesh will be broadcast live by Doordarshan through DD News, DD National and DD India from 11:30 AM onwards on 24^th April, 2023 and streamed live at web-link: https://webcast.gov.in.

Background:

The Nation celebrates 24th April of every year as National Panchayati Raj Day. 24^th April marks a defining moment in the history of decentralization of power to the grassroots, with the institutionalization of Panchayati Raj, through the Constitution (73^rd Amendment) Act, 1992 which came into force with effect from that day. Ministry of Panchayati Raj commemorates 24^th April of every year as the National Panchayati Raj Day (राष्ट्रीय पंचायती राज दिवस) (NPRD), as the 73^rd Constitutional Amendment came into force on this day. National Panchayati Raj Day is commemorated as a grand event on a big scale and is being generally held outside the National Capital.

This year’s National Panchayati Raj Day holds a special significance as we would be commemorating 30 years of Panchayati Raj in India. This Constitution Amendment Act which introduced Part IX regarding Panchayats, has been a watershed initiative in our democratic polity ushering in an effective local governance at grassroots level.

Since 2014 the Central Government has intensified its efforts to support the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in the best manner possible to ensure that the basic objectives of the Panchayati Raj are achieved in true letter and spirit. Under the visionary leadership of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra  Modi, India has seen a quantum  leap in the allocation of fiscal resources to Panchayati Raj Institutions to support various infrastructure requirements and developmental activities in rural areas. Central Government has been taking many initiatives for strengthening and empowering Panchayati Raj Institutions, increasing the capacity of representatives of PRIs to fulfill their role and responsibilities and improving the efficiency, transparency of functioning and accountability of PRIs to contribute towards inclusive development, economic growth and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in nine themes i.e. (1) Poverty Free and Enhanced Livelihoods Village, (2) Healthy Village, (3) Child-Friendly Village, (4) Water Sufficient Village, (5) Clean and Green Village, (6) Village with Self-sufficient Infrastructure, (7) Socially Just & Socially Secured Village, (8) Village with Good Governance and (9) Women Friendly Village.

eGramSwaraj - Government eMarketplace Integration

eGramSwaraj (eGS) was launched on the occasion of National Panchayati Raj Day on  24^th April 2020 which was designed to operate as a single window solution for all day-to-day functioning of the Panchayats from Planning to Online Payments. After the clarion call by Prime Minister on National Panchayati Raj Day on 24 April 2020, the adoption of the application increased speedily. As on date eGramSwaraj has almost 100% usage and adoption across the country with more than 2.3 lakh Gram Panchayats and Traditional Local Bodies are already using it for online payments. Till date more than 1.35 Lakh crore payments have been effected online through this system. The grants spent through this system were primarily central finance commission grants and all funds for XV FC grants (worth Rs. 2.5 Lakh crores) are being expended through eGramSwaraj application only. In FY 2022-23, funds to the tune of nearly Rs. 50,000 crores were spent online by the Panchayats across India. The payments are made through Public Finance Management System (PFMS) directly to the vendor accounts.

While the expenditure was being done online, the procurement was being made in the traditional methods of offline tenders etc. by the Panchayats. Hence, upon the endeavour of Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) and also as requested by many Panchayats across the country, it was decided that the procurement process shall also become a feature of eGramSwaraj. Therefore, MoPR and GeM collaborated to integrate eGramSwaraj and GeM, and the initiative of technical integration between eGramSwaraj and Government eMarketplace (GeM) applications was carried out. The objective is to enable the Panchayats to procure their goods and services through GeM leveraging the eGramSwaraj platform directly. This initiative shall take the benefits of online procurement through GeM to the lowest tier of governance and not just restricted to Central/State Government Ministries and Departments. Since Panchayats are already accustomed to using eGramSwaraj, procurement through GeM will be an extension to their online work and the fund management.

Salient features of the eGramSwaraj - Government eMarketplace Integration:

• Existing User base of GeM of nearly 60,000 is envisioned to increase to more than 3 lakhs in a phased manner.
• Bringing transparency in procurement by Panchayats by making the process digital, a major demand raised by Panchayats
• Encouragement of local vendors (Proprietors, Self Help groups, Cooperatives etc.) to register on GeM as Panchayats procure largely from such vendors. Also, selling online by such vendors can open new markets for them.
• Mitigation of audit objections as procurements would follow General Financial Rules (GFR) by virtue of GeM usage.
• Arbitrary award of contracts shall cease, compliant vendors would receive timely payments, 
  Panchayats will access to doorstep delivery of quality assured goods on standardized and competitive rates
• Major Capacity building being taken by MoPR where trainings have been conducted multiple times at both Central and State level. GeM has also trained and appointed business facilitators in all States for handholding of the Panchayat users.

SVAMITVA Scheme

SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) is a Central Sector Scheme launched by the Prime Minister on 24^th April 2020 on the occasion of the National Panchayati Raj Day. SVAMITVA Scheme aims to provide “Records of Rights”/ Property Cards to rural household owners of the inhabited area of the village. The scheme covers multifarious aspects viz. facilitating monetisation of properties and enabling bank loans; reducing property-related disputes; comprehensive village-level planning. It will further enhance the socio-economic profile of the Panchayats, making them self-sustainable. The Property Card generated under the Scheme provides the right of the property to the household in the rural abadi area. The Scheme covers each section of society including SCs, STs, differently-abled, minorities, women and other vulnerable groups.

As on 31^st March 2023, drone flying has been completed in 2.39 lakh villages which make up 63% of the overall target of 3.72 lakh villages, and Drone survey is completed in the state of Madhya Pradesh, UTs of Lakshadweep, Delhi, Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu. Property Cards of all the inhabited villages of Haryana followed by Uttarakhand, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Goa have been prepared. With close coordination between the States and the Survey of India, a milestone of preparation of over 1.24 crore property Cards for nearly 74,000 villages is achieved.

SVAMITVA – Meri Sampatti, Mera Haq campaign has been covered under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav – Samaaveshi Vikas – Inclusive Development theme to be launched by the Prime Minister on 24^th April, 2023.

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PK