The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has released a report titled “Status of Devolution to Panchayats in States - An Indicative Evidence-Based Ranking, 2024” in February 2025 to assess the effectiveness of devolution and the role of local governments in strengthening grassroots democracy, including assessment of the status of financial and administrative empowerment of Panchayats Raj Institutions (PRIs). This report presents the Devolution Index, which provides the overall scores and ranks for all States/Union Territories (UTs) covered under Part-IX of the Constitution, based on six identified dimensions: Framework, Functions, Finances, Functionaries, Capacity Enhancement, and Accountability.

Many Gram Panchayats are facing difficulties in effectively implementing local development works due to inadequate financial resources, shortage of manpower and limited administrative powers. “Panchayat”, being “Local Government”, is a State subject and part of State List of Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. Panchayats are set up and operate through the respective State Panchayati Raj Acts which may vary from State to State, subject to the provisions of the Constitution. Article 243G of the Constitution empowers the Legislature of a State to make provisions, by law, for the devolution of power and responsibilities upon Panchayat at the appropriate level, subject to such conditions as may be specified, with respect to the preparation of plans for economic development and social justice and implementation of schemes for economic development and social justice as may be entrusted to them including those in relation to matters listed in the Eleventh Schedule to the Constitution. The State legislatures are to consider the 29 subjects listed in the Eleventh Schedule for devolution of power and responsibilities to Panchayats. Accordingly, all matters relating to Panchayats, including, implementing local development works, manpower requirement, financial resources, administrative powers at the Panchayat level and enhancement of the financial and administrative autonomy of Panchayats, etc. fall within the purview of State Government.

During the 15^th Finance Commission (FC) award period (FY 2020-21 to FY 2025-26), including the interim period of FY 2020-21, a total of Rs. 2,82,632 Crores have been released against the total allocation of Rs. 2,97,555 Crores. The State-wise details of allocation & release of the funds under 15^th FC is placed at Annexure I. Further, under the Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) of the Ministry, a total of Rs. 3601.77 Crores have been released to the States/UT during the last five year from FY 2021-22. The details of funds released to the States/UTs under the Revamped RGSA scheme during the last five years is at Annexure-II.

As part of the Digital India initiative, MoPR has established an integrated digital governance ecosystem for Panchayats to promote transparency, accountability, and efficient financial management. This Ministry has launched ‘eGramSwaraj’ in 2020–21 as a unified digital platform which supports end-to-end planning, budgeting, accounting, monitoring, and online payments. Its integration with the Public Financial Management System (PFMS), Government e-Marketplace (GeM), and AuditOnline has enabled seamless fund flow, transparent procurement, payments and auditing, thereby strengthening governance and financial oversight at the grassroots. As a result, around 2,40,435 out of 2,64,998 i.e. 90.73% of PRIs have generated audit report in FY 2024-25. The tier-wise details of audit report generated in FY 2024-25 is placed at Annexure-III.

The Ministry has implemented the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) since the financial year 2022-23 in States/ UTs. The main objective of the scheme is to build the capacity of PRIs by creating a learning ecosystem, especially through training for the Elected Representatives (ERs), functionaries, and other stakeholders to develop their governance capabilities to function effectively, and also by supporting exposure visits, development of training modules and materials, etc. A total of 1,66,41,509 Elected Representatives were trained from FY 2022–23 to FY 2026–27 (as on 10.07.2026) under the scheme.

A major step has also been taken to build capacity and train elected representatives and functionaries of Panchayats through institutes of excellence such as Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs)/ Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) under the Leadership/Management Development Program (MDP). Under this MDP training, 3,490 people have been trained so far as on 10.07.2026.

The Ministry has also implemented the e-Panchayat Mission Mode Project (MMP) under RGSA scheme, which has significantly enhanced transparency, efficiency, and governance at the grassroots level. The eGramSwaraj application, developed as part of the e-Panchayat MMP, has facilitated digital planning, accounting, monitoring, and online payments at the Panchayat level. The integration of eGramSwaraj with the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) enables real-time payments to vendors and service providers, ensuring seamless fund flow and reducing delays. During Financial Year 2025–26, 2,55,254 Gram Panchayats across the country, uploaded their Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs).

Further, ‘AuditOnline’, an application has been developed for online audits of Panchayat accounts and their financial management. This application has been launched in April 2020 for transparent auditing of Central Finance Commission funds utilisation to strengthen financial management of Panchayats.

The Ministry, has also undertaken a significant step to digitise the collection of Own Sources of Revenue (OSRs) of the Panchayats by developing the “SAMARTH Panchayat portal”, a dedicated digital platform that facilitates the generation of tax & non-tax demands and collection thereof, maintenance of tax registers, and online tracking of revenue. This digital empowerment is designed to bring transparency, efficiency, and scalability to local financial administration.

In 2025, the Ministry has launched the Atma Nirbhar Panchayat Special Award (ANPSA) to promote Atmanirbharta through the augmentation of OSR by Panchayats.

Moreover, to provide greater financial autonomy, enhance decision-making capacity at the grassroots level, and make Gram Panchayats self-reliant, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, in collaboration with IIM Ahmedabad, has developed a training module on OSR to strengthen the financial self-reliance of Gram Panchayats. The module helps elected representatives and Panchayat functionaries understand how OSR is generated through tax and non-tax sources. Under the Specialised Module of OSR, 2,75,893 have been trained so far as on 10.07.2026.

Further, the Ministry has developed applications such as Meri Panchayat, which have endeavoured to bring transparency in Panchayat Governance by making information on planning, activities and progress of works in Panchayat accessible to public. Similarly, Panchayat NIRNAY is an online application that aims at bringing transparency and better management in conduct of Gram Sabhas by Panchayats.

 

Annexure-I

State wise allocation and release under 15th Finance Commission as on 31^st March 2026

(Rs.in Crore)

Sl. No.	States	2020-21		2021-22		2022-23		2023-24		2024-25		2025-26		Total
		Allocation	Release	Allocation	Release	Allocation	Release	Allocation	Release	Allocation	Release	Allocation	Release	Allocation	Release
1	AndhraPradesh	2,625	2,625	1,939	1,918	2,010	1,977	2,031	1,997	2,152	2,110	2,099	2,054	12,856	12,681
2	ArunachalPradesh	231	231	170	170	177	89	179	-	189	-	185	-	1,131	490
3	Assam	1,604	1,604	1,186	1,186	1,228	1,228	1,241	1,241	1,315	1,315	1,283	1,283	7,857	7,857
4	Bihar	5,018	5,018	3,709	3,709	3,842	3,842	3,884	3,855	4,114	4,109	4,012	4,012	24,579	24,545
5	Chhattisgarh	1,454	1,454	1,075	1,075	1,114	1,114	1,125	1,125	1,192	1,185	1,163	1,162	7,123	7,115
6	Goa	75	75	55	55	57	48	58	55	62	31	61	-	368	264
7	Gujarat	3,195	3,195	2,362	2,362	2,446	2,446	2,473	2,473	2,619	2,619	2,555	2,553	15,650	15,648
8	Haryana	1,264	1,264	935	935	968	967	979	954	1,036	1,013	1,011	988	6,193	6,121
9	HimachalPradesh	429	429	317	317	329	329	332	332	352	352	343	342	2,102	2,100
10	Jharkhand	1,689	1,689	1,249	1,249	1,293	1,293	1,307	1,307	1,385	1,385	1,351	674	8,274	7,597
11	Karnataka	3,217	3,217	2,377	2,376	2,463	2,094	2,490	2,087	2,637	2,133	2,572	-	15,756	11,906
12	Kerala	1,628	1,628	1,203	1,203	1,246	1,246	1,260	1,260	1,334	1,334	1,301	1,301	7,972	7,972
13	MadhyaPradesh	3,984	3,984	2,944	2,944	3,050	3,050	3,083	3,081	3,265	3,263	3,185	3,150	19,511	19,472
14	Maharashtra	5,827	5,827	4,307	4,267	4,461	4,073	4,510	4,093	4,776	3,918	4,659	3,942	28,540	26,119
15	Manipur	177	177	131	66	135	-	137	-	145	-	142	-	867	243
16	Meghalaya	182	182	135	95	140	-	141	-	149	-	146	-	893	277
17	Mizoram	93	93	69	69	71	71	72	72	76	76	74	74	455	455
18	Nagaland	125	125	92	92	96	48	97	-	102	-	99	-	611	265
19	Odisha	2,258	2,258	1,669	1,669	1,728	1,728	1,747	1,747	1,851	1,851	1,805	1,801	11,058	11,054
20	Punjab	1,388	1,388	1,026	1,026	1,062	1,062	1,074	1,058	1,138	1,128	1,110	1,109	6,798	6,772
21	Rajasthan	3,862	3,862	2,854	2,854	2,957	2,955	2,989	2,848	3,166	3,166	3,087	1,568	18,915	17,253
22	Sikkim	42	42	31	31	33	33	33	33	35	33	33	33	207	205
23	TamilNadu	3,607	3,607	2,666	2,666	2,761	2,761	2,791	2,791	2,957	2,957	2,884	638	17,666	15,420
24	Telangana	1,847	1,847	1,365	1,365	1,415	1,415	1,430	1,430	1,514	1,281	1,477	620	9,048	7,957
25	Tripura	191	191	141	141	147	147	148	148	157	157	153	153	937	937
26	UttarPradesh	9,752	9,752	7,208	7,208	7,466	7,466	7,547	7,547	7,994	7,994	7,797	7,797	47,764	47,764
27	Uttarakhand	574	574	425	419	440	439	445	444	471	470	458	456	2,813	2,802
28	WestBengal	4,412	4,412	3,261	3,261	3,378	3,378	3,415	3,415	3,617	3,472	3,528	3,404	21,611	21,342
	Total	60,750	60,750	44,901	44,726	46,513	45,299	47,018	45,392	49,800	47,350	48,573	39,115	2,97,555	2,82,632
	% (percentage)		100		100		97		97		95		81		95

 

Annexure-II

 

State/UT-wise details of funds released under Revamped RGSA during the last five years

(Rs.in crore)

Sl. No	State	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25	2025-26
1	Andaman & Nicobar Islands	0.00	0.00	0.79	2.12	1.00
2	Andhra Pradesh	38.54	0.00	0.00	2.52	35.00
3	Arunachal Pradesh	30.07	108.69	72.09	70.00	57.00
4	Assam	44.04	55.29	77.70	60.00	64.00
5	Bihar	63.77	33.37	25.00	0.00	26.00
6	Chhattisgarh	7.93	0.00	17.57	16.50	29.00
7	Dadra& Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu	0.00	1.14	1.00	1.00	1.25
8	Goa	0.59	0.00	0.89	1.35	1.00
9	Gujarat	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	8.00
10	Haryana	0.00	0.00	0.00	5.00	17.91
11	Himachal Pradesh	32.42	60.65	19.31	27.21	14.00
12	Jammu & Kashmir	40.00	40.00	65.00	65.00	57.00
13	Jharkhand	7.74	0.00	31.00	0.00	15.20
14	Karnataka	29.15	36.00	20.00	16.25	11.03
15	Kerala	12.00	30.40	10.00	10.00	18.00
16	Lakshadweep	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
17	Ladakh	1.08	0.00	1.00	0.00	0.72
18	MadhyaPradesh	47.11	28.00	32.17	40.00	49.95
19	Maharashtra	73.34	37.84	116.12	80.00	54.49
20	Manipur	2.98	8.63	9.56	0.00	1.48
21	Meghalaya	0.00	0.00	6.00	8.00	5.02
22	Mizoram	5.56	14.27	10.00	12.00	16.50
23	Nagaland	4.58	0.00	10.00	10.00	10.70
24	Odisha	1.33	11.40	27.33	20.00	62.24
25	Puducherry	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
26	Punjab	10.78	34.25	10.00	5.00	30.30
27	Rajasthan	17.27	0.00	21.72	15.00	13.00
28	Sikkim	1.19	6.01	6.00	7.00	3.21
29	TamilNadu	39.89	25.42	0.00	45.00	20.00
30	Telangana	0.00	0.00	20.00	0.00	3.00
31	Tripura	4.67	9.80	7.43	10.00	29.99
32	UttarPradesh	83.08	85.05	84.13	38.77	28.05
33	Uttarakhand	0.00	42.48	64.67	50.00	44.09
34	WestBengal	15.14	4.28	33.69	52.68	40.00
	Sub-Total	614.25	672.97	800.17	670.40	768.13
	Others Implementing Agencies	3.75	10.01	14.69	23.77	23.63
Grand Total		618.00	682.98	814.86	694.17	791.76

ForFY2025–26,the releases comprise funds through both SNA till 30^th June2025 and SNA-SPARSH since 1^st July 2025.

This information was given by Union Minister Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh in a written reply in Lok Sabha on 28th July 2026.

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AA

 

Annexure-III

Annexure referred to in reply to part (c) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1534 answered on 28.07.2026 regarding “Empowerment of Panchayati Raj Institutions”.

Tier-wise details of Audit Report generated in Financial Year 2024-25

Source: Report generated through auditonline.gov.in .

 

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AA

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