FUNCTIONING OF PANCHAYATI RAJ INSTITUTIONS - 21st July 2026 - Ministry of Panchayati Raj - Gazette Notification PDF
Issued by Ministry of Panchayati Raj
Read or download the official PDF of this gazette notification issued by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj on 21st July 2026. Classified under Press Release.
Executive Summary & Key Takeaways
Executive Summary This report details the functioning and devolution of power to Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in India, highlighting that "Panchayat" is a State subject. It introduces the "Devolution Index 2024," which reveals an increase in the extent of devolution from 39.9% to 43.9% between 2013-14 and 2021-22. Key initiatives mentioned include the Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) and specialized training modules designed to enhance the capacity and financial self-reliance of local governments.
Key Points / Main Content
Constitutional and Legal Framework
- State Purview: Panchayats are a State subject under the Seventh Schedule; states operate through their respective State Panchayati Raj Acts.
- Article 243G: Empowers State Legislatures to devolve powers and responsibilities to Panchayats for economic development and social justice across 29 subjects listed in the Eleventh Schedule.
- State Responsibility: All matters relating to the review of functioning, devolution of powers, and strengthening of local self-governance fall under the purview of State Governments.
Assessment of Devolution
- Devolution Index (DI): The Ministry released a 2024 report ranking States/UTs based on six dimensions: Framework, Functions, Finances, Functionaries, Capacity Enhancement, and Accountability.
- National Performance: The national average for devolution is 43.89%. Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu are the top-ranked states in the General Category.
- Measurement Criteria: Framework includes seat reservations and elections; Functions cover activity mapping and scheme involvement; Finances include grants and revenue collection; Accountability involves social audits and transparency.
Capacity Building and Training
- Revamped RGSA: A Centrally Sponsored Scheme implemented from FY 2022-23 to impart training to elected representatives and stakeholders for effective governance.
- Academic Collaboration: Leadership and Management Development Programs (MDP) are conducted through institutes of excellence like IIMs and IITs.
- Financial Self-Reliance: A training module developed with IIM Ahmedabad helps Panchayats understand and generate Own Source Revenue (OSR) through tax and non-tax sources.
- Women’s Empowerment: The "Shashkta Panchayat Netri Abhiyan" provides specialized training for Women Elected Representatives to enhance practical skills in rural governance.
Impact Analysis
State Governments Impact: They hold the primary legal authority and responsibility for the functioning, autonomy, and accountability of PRIs. Action Required: Legislatures must review PRI functioning and devolve administrative, financial, and functional powers as per the Eleventh Schedule.
Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) / Gram Panchayats Impact: They are the primary beneficiaries of increased devolution and are expected to transition toward greater financial self-reliance and autonomy. Action Required: Implement schemes for economic development, participate in "Activity Mapping," and utilize the OSR training modules to generate local revenue.
Elected Representatives and Functionaries Impact: They gain access to high-level leadership training and specialized modules to improve their governance skills. Action Required: Participate in basic orientation, refresher programs, and thematic interventions under the Revamped RGSA.
Women Elected Representatives Impact: Targeted for capacity building to ensure effective discharge of roles and promote women-led governance. Action Required: Engage with the specialized training modules under the "Shashkta Panchayat Netri Abhiyan."
Key Entities Referenced
Article 243G of the Constitution of India: The constitutional provision that empowers State Legislatures to devolve powers and responsibilities to Panchayats for economic development and social justice.
Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA): A Centrally Sponsored Scheme implemented to strengthen the governance, accountability, and capacity of Panchayati Raj Institutions through training and support.
Devolution Index: A metric used to rank States and Union Territories based on dimensions such as framework, functions, finances, and accountability to assess the effectiveness of local governance.
Ministry of Panchayati Raj: The nodal central ministry that reviews Panchayat performance, implements capacity-building schemes, and released the 2024 report on the status of devolution.
Eleventh Schedule to the Constitution of India: A list of 29 subjects for which the State legislatures are mandated to consider the devolution of powers and responsibilities to Panchayats.
Official Gazette PDF Record
Download Official PDF (FUNCTIONING OF PANCHAYATI RAJ INSTITUTIONS) →
Official Gazette Notification PDF Viewer
See Full Document Text & PDF Transcript
Ministry of Panchayati Raj
FUNCTIONING OF PANCHAYATI RAJ
INSTITUTIONS
प्रव तथ: 21 JUL 2026 6:18PM by PIB Delhi
“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. States have made their own Panchayati Raj Act, 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, to
review the functioning of Panchayati Raj Institutions, to devolve greater administrative, financial and
functional powers to Gram Panchayats, details of the funds, functions and functionaries devolved to
Panchayats and to take steps to strengthen local self-Governance and ensure greater autonomy,
accountability and capacity of Panchayati Raj Institutions, fall within the purview of State Government.
However, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj reviews performance of Panchayats, from time to time, through
studies, review meetings, field visits, video conferencing, Information Technology applications etc. Year-
wise details of the funds, functions and functionaries devolved to Panchayats by States are not maintained
by Ministry of Panchayati Raj.
The Ministry 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. 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. This report reveals that the extent of devolution has increased
from 39.9% to 43.9% between the period 2013-14 to 2021-22. Ranking of States/UTs in Devolution Index
and Sub-indices is attached as Annexure-I.
In these six identified dimensions, Framework includes reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes/
Scheduled Tribes and women, Panchayats elections & State Election Commission, Panchayats duration,
dissolution & bye elections, constitution and function of District Planning Committee, role of Panchayats
in Committees and parallel bodies/institutions, autonomy to Panchayats. Functions include functions
assigned to Panchayats including Activity Mapping, expenditure incurred and actual involvement of
Panchayats, involvement of Panchayats in important Schemes. Finances include Fifteenth Finance
Commission Grants to the Panchayats, State Finance Commission (SFC), money transfers to Panchayat on
accounts of the SFC recommendations, empowerment of Panchayats to impose and collect revenue, funds
available with Panchayats, expenditure of Panchayats, initiatives related to finance, accounts and budget.Functionaries include physical infrastructure of Panchayats, e-connectivity of Panchayats, Panchayats
officials. Capacity Enhancement includes training institutions, training activities–training of elected
representative and officials. Accountability includes accounting and audit of Panchayats, social audit of
Panchayats, functioning of Gram Sabha, transparency & anti-corruption, Panchayats assessment &
incentivization.
To strengthen local self-Governance and ensure greater autonomy, accountability and capacity of
Panchayati Raj Institutions, the Ministry has implemented a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, namely the
Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA), w.e.f. financial year 2022-23, with the objective of
supporting Panchayati Raj institutions by imparting trainings to Elected Representatives and other
stakeholders to develop leadership abilities, thereby enabling Gram Panchayats to function effectively
across all States/UTs. Under the scheme, capacity building support is provided to elected representatives,
functionaries, and other stakeholders of Panchayats under different categories, viz. basic orientation and
refresher programmes, thematic interventions, specialized trainings and Panchayat Development Plan-
related programmes, etc. The scheme also supports exposure visits to facilitate experiential learning and
replication of best practices for strengthening Panchayat governance, as well as development of training
modules and materials etc.
Further, to enhance skills and knowledge, a major step has also been taken to build capacity and train
elected representatives and functionaries of Panchayats through Institutes of excellence such as IIMs/IITs
under the Leadership/Management Development Program (MDP).
The Ministry of Panchayati Raj, in collaboration with IIM Ahmedabad, has also developed a training
module on Own Source Revenue (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.
Additionally, the Ministry has launched a Specialized Training Module as a part of “Shashkta Panchayat
Netri Abhiyan” for the capacity building of Women Elected Representatives of Panchayati Raj
Institutions. The focus of this training module is to build the capacity of Women Elected Representatives
across different aspects of rural governance and enhance their knowledge and practical skills for the
effective discharge of roles and responsibilities as elected representatives, thereby promoting women-led
governance.
ANNEXURE-I
Ranking of States/UTs in Devolution Index (DI) and Sub-indices
Rank DI Framework Functions Finances
State Score State Score State Score State S
General Category States
1 Karnataka 72.23 Kerala 83.56 Tamil Nadu 60.24 Karnataka 7
2 Kerala 70.59 Maharashtra 74.74 Karnataka 57.62 Kerala 6
3 Tamil Nadu 68.38 Karnataka 74.43 Odisha 57.46 Tamil Nadu 54 Maharashtra 61.44 Haryana 73.3 Rajasthan 56.13 Rajasthan 5
5 Uttar Pradesh 60.07 Madhya 70 Kerala 53.86 Odisha 5
Pradesh
6 Gujarat 58.26 Odisha 69.2 Uttar Pradesh 46.89 West Bengal 5
7 Rajasthan 56.67 Rajasthan 68.54 Maharashtra 46.52 Uttar Pradesh 5
8 West Bengal 56.52 Chhattisgarh 68.51 Chhattisgarh 42.39 Chhattisgarh 5
9 Chhattisgarh 56.26 Tamil Nadu 66.83 Gujarat 41.23 Telangana 4
10 Telangana 55.1 West Bengal 62.3 Madhya 39.47 Bihar 4
Pradesh
11 Andhra 54.43 Gujarat 61.65 Telangana 38.77 Andhra 4
Pradesh Pradesh
12 Madhya 50.94 Andhra 60.08 West Bengal 33.07 Maharashtra 4
Pradesh Pradesh
13 Odisha 50.03 Uttar Pradesh 54.64 Punjab 31.97 Madhya 4
Pradesh
14 Bihar 48.24 Goa 52.88 Andhra 30.5 Gujarat 4
Pradesh
15 Haryana 39.33 Bihar 49.76 Jharkhand 27.56 Haryana 4
16 Goa 37.71 Punjab 47.26 Bihar 18.69 Punjab 3
17 Punjab 29.34 Telangana 45.35 Haryana 16.82 Jharkhand 3
18 Jharkhand 27.73 Jharkhand 42.3 Goa 6.63 Goa 2
Northeastern / Hilly Area States
1 Tripura 57.58 Uttarakhand 70.95 Sikkim 42.59 Tripura 52 Himachal 53.17 Tripura 66.5 Assam 28.66 Himachal 4
Pradesh Pradesh
3 Uttarakhand 49.11 Sikkim 65.27 Himachal 23.01 Uttarakhand 4
Pradesh
4 Assam 49.06 Himachal 62.22 Tripura 21.5 Sikkim
Pradesh
5 Sikkim 43.81 Assam 54.04 Uttarakhand 16.68 Assam 3
6 Arunachal 17.96 Arunachal 41.5 Arunachal 12.7 Manipur# 1
Pradesh# Pradesh# Pradesh#
7 Manipur# 17.13 Manipur# 34.05 Manipur# 11.23 Arunachal
Pradesh#
Union Territories
1 Jammu and 27.85 Andaman 55.21 Jammu and 11.88 Puducherry 1
Kashmir &Nicobar Kashmir
Islands
2 Andaman 27.15 Lakshadweep# 31.42 Ladakh 11.08 Jammu and 1
&Nicobar Kashmir
Islands
3 Lakshadweep# 18.32 Jammu and 23.07 Lakshadweep# 10.36 Andaman
Kashmir &Nicobar
Islands
4 Ladakh 16.18 Ladakh 22.21 Puducherry 4.63 Dadra &
Nagar Haveli
and Daman &
Diu#
5 Puducherry 16.16 Dadra & 22.06 Andaman 4.5 Lakshadweep#
Nagar Haveli &Nicobar
and Daman & Islands
Diu#6 Dadra & 13.62 Puducherry 9.31 Dadra & 0 Ladakh
Nagar Haveli Nagar Haveli
and Daman & and Daman &
Diu# Diu#
National 43.89 54.29 29.18 3
Average
Source: Report titled “Status of Devolution to Panchayats in States - An Indicative Evidence-Based
Ranking, 2024”
Note: #States for which previous data is used
This information was given by Union Minister Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh in a written
reply in Lok Sabha on 21st July 2026.
***
AA
(रलीज़ आईडी: 2287261) आगंतुक पटल : 1345
इस वज्ञ को इन भाषाओ ंम पढ़: Urdu , ही