The National Panchayat Awards 2025 was conferred today on 42 outstanding Panchayats from across the country in New Delhi by Union Minister of Panchayati Raj and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh in the presence of Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj Prof. S. P. Singh Baghel, Minister of Transformation and Development, Labour Welfare, Tea Tribes & Adivasi Welfare, Government of Assam, Shri Rameswar Teli, Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Shri Vivek Bharadwaj, senior officials  of the center and state along with elected representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions from various States and Union Territories. These awards recognise the exemplary contributions of Panchayats across the country towards fostering inclusive, participatory and sustainable rural development, in line with the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. E-Book on the Works and Best Practices of Awardee Panchayats conferred with the National Panchayat Awards 2025 and a Compendium of Best Practices from States and Union Territories on Strengthening Panchayati Raj Institutions was also released during the event. These publications are intended to facilitate peer learning and the replication of successful governance models at the grassroots.

On this occasion, Union Minister Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh congratulated the award-winning Panchayats for their dedication, innovation and commitment to people-centric governance. Addressing representatives of the awardee Panchayats and participants connected virtually from across the country, Shri Singh said that these awards reflect the growing strength of grassroots democracy and the crucial role the Panchayats are playing in realizing the vision of Viksit Bharat. Echoing the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, he said that the journey towards developed India must be driven by empowered villages, guided by the principle of “Gramoday se Bharat Uday.” The Union Minister expressed satisfaction that 22 of the 42 award-winning Panchayats are led by women, describing it as a testament to the transformative impact of women’s leadership and inclusive governance in rural India. Highlighting Ministry initiatives such as the Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI) 2.0, e-GramSwaraj, AI-enabled SabhaSaar platform, Shri Singh noted that Panchayats are being empowered with technology, resources and capacity-building support to ensure transparent, accountable and citizen-centric governance. He urged the awardee Panchayats to act as role models by sharing best practices, promoting innovation, strengthening women’s leadership and ensuring effective last-mile delivery of services. Shri Singh reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to empowering Panchayats and said that the ₹4.35 lakh crore (84 per cent increase in allocations over the 15th Finance Commission) recommended under the 16th Finance Commission would further strengthen grassroots governance and support the vision of Viksit Bharat.

Union Minister of State Prof. S. P. Singh Baghel, said that the selection of 42 award-winning Panchayats from over 2.5 lakh Panchayats across the country reflects a transparent and rigorous evaluation process. He noted that the awards are based on the Localized Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs) and the Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI), ensuring objective and performance-based assessment. The Union Minister of State encouraged Panchayat representatives to ensure saturation of government welfare schemes in areas such as health, pensions and social security to achieve inclusive and holistic development.

Secretary, MoPR Shri Vivek Bharadwaj, in his address, highlighted the remarkable transformation of Panchayati Raj Institutions into data-driven, transparent and accountable engines of grassroots governance, describing the journey as one of the most inspiring chapters in India’s democratic story. He  urged every Panchayat across the country to draw strength and inspiration from these models of excellence to deepen participatory and citizen-centric self-governance in India.

About National Panchayat Awards

The National Panchayat Awards are conferred annually by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj to recognise and incentivise best-performing Panchayats for their exemplary contributions to inclusive, participatory and sustainable rural development. The awards framework was comprehensively revamped in 2023 and aligned with the nine themes of Localisation of SDGs, making the assessment more holistic, transparent and future-oriented. NPA 2025 was conferred across two major categories namely, the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar (DDUPSVP) awarded to 34 Gram Panchayats from 17 States and Union Territories for distinguished performance across nine themes of Localisation of Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs), encompassing poverty-free livelihoods, health, child-friendly governance, water sufficiency, clean and green environment, infrastructure, social justice and security, good governance, and women-friendly Panchayats, with selection anchored in Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI) 2.0 scores and the Nanaji Deshmukh Sarvottam Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar (NDSPSVP) was conferred on 8 Panchayats comprising 3 Best District Panchayats, 2 Best Block Panchayats and 3 Best Gram Panchayats, recognised as the best-performing entities on an overall basis. Awardee Panchayats received financial incentives under the Incentivization of Panchayats (IoP) scheme, a component of the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA), ranging from ₹50 lakh to ₹5 crore per awardee, to be utilised for further development works.

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Aditi Agrawal

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