Viksit Gram Swaraj Yojana: Cabinet Clears ₹7,395 Crore for Panchayats
Image: Rural Voice
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday, 28 October approved the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Gram Swaraj Yojana, a centrally sponsored scheme to train panchayat representatives and move village planning and audits online across all States and Union Territories. The scheme runs from 2026-27 to 2030-31 with a total outlay of ₹7,395.55 crore, according to the official Cabinet statement as reported by IANS and Rural Voice.
Training and Online Audits for 32 Lakh People
About 32 lakh elected representatives, panchayat functionaries and other stakeholders are to be trained each year, with digital handholding. Over 2.55 lakh Gram Panchayats and traditional local bodies are covered, including rural local bodies in areas outside Part IX of the Constitution where panchayats do not exist.
Every year the scheme targets 2.55 lakh Gram Panchayat Development Plans on the eGramSwaraj portal and at least 2.55 lakh online audit plans, with audits completed through AuditOnline. Awareness campaigns are meant to reach at least one crore citizens each. The AI-enabled PANCHAM communication platform, which works in 17 languages, is part of the plan.
Centre ₹4,869 Crore, States ₹2,526 Crore
The Centre will bear ₹4,869.48 crore and the States ₹2,526.07 crore. No permanent posts will be created; States and Union Territories may hire contractual staff at State, district and block levels where needed.
The scheme is timed to the Sixteenth Finance Commission period. The Commission has recommended about ₹4.35 lakh crore in grants for rural local bodies over 2026-27 to 2030-31, so this scheme is the capacity-building side of that much larger flow of money. The Cabinet also cleared a ₹10,000 crore container manufacturing scheme in the same round of decisions, and raised dearness allowance to 63% a day earlier.
States to Submit Annual Action Plans
States and Union Territories will send annual action plans, which a Central Empowered Committee will appraise and approve. The Cabinet statement does not give a start date for training or a list of first-year States. More Daily Updates are on IPB News.
Source: Based on reporting by The Hans India (IANS) and Rural Voice.
Image: Rural Voice.
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