Overview
- At a national event in New Delhi on Friday, the government marked National Panchayati Raj Day with the release of the Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI)-2.0 and rural heritage publications, alongside a message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi praising grassroots service.
- Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh said the SVAMITVA mapping drive has created 3.10 crore rural property cards and distributed 2.65 crore, describing the effort to survey villages by drone and issue legal ownership papers as a foundation for better local records and services.
- Panchayati Raj Secretary Vivek Bharadwaj said the 16th Finance Commission has recommended nearly an 84% jump in grants for rural local bodies with an 80:20 split between basic and performance grants, tying extra funds to panchayats that raise more of their own revenue.
- Government figures released for the day note more than 2.5 lakh panchayats and 24.04 lakh elected members nationwide, with women holding about 49.75% of local seats, reflecting broad participation in village governance.
- The observance doubled as a political stage, with BJP leaders touting stronger delivery through local bodies and Congress leaders urging a revival of decentralisation and calling out lapses such as delayed local polls in Rajasthan.