Parliament Question: Digital Governance

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PANCHAYATI RAJ LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION 419 ANSWERED ON 21.07.2026 DIGITAL GOVERNANCE 419. SHRI BUNTY VIVEK SAHU: Will the Minister of PANCHAYATI RAJ be pleased to State: (a) the major progress made to empower Gram Panchayats and enhance transparency through the 'Gram Swaraj Abhiyan' and digital governance via the 'e-Gram Swaraj, portal in the country during the last two years; (b) the specific budgetary assistance provided by the Government to strengthen the three-tier Panchayati Raj system and develop rural infrastructure in Madhya Pradesh; and (c) whether the Government is providing any special financial package or technical assistance to address the lack of basic amenities such as modernization of Panchayat Bhawans and computer/internet connectivity in the remote and tribal-dominated Gram Panchayats of Chhindwara district, if so, the details thereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF PANCHAYATI RAJ (SHRI RAJIV RANJAN SINGH ALIAS LALAN SINGH) (a) The Ministry of Panchayati Raj is implementing the e-Panchayat Mission Mode Project (MMP) under the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) with the objective of strengthening transparency, efficiency, and accountability in the functioning of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) through digital enablement across all States. eGramSwaraj application developed under the e-Panchayat MMP is being implemented across Gram Panchayats throughout the country to strengthen transparency, accountability and digital governance in Panchayati Raj Institutions. eGramSwaraj facilitates planning, budgeting, accounting, progress reporting and asset management. As on date, during the FY 2025–26, out of a total of 2,58,730 Gram Panchayats and equivalent across the States/UTs, 2,55,251 Gram Panchayats and equivalent (98.65%), have uploaded their Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs) on e-Gram Swaraj and 2,45,839 Gram Panchayats and equivalents (95%) have made payments amounting to ₹57,337 crore through the e- GramSwaraj–PFMS interface. The State-wise status of implementation of eGramSwaraj during last two years, is placed at Annexure. 1(b) Ministry of Panchayati Raj has been implementing 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 Panchayati Raj institutions (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. Rural Local Bodies, including Gram Panchayats in Madhya Pradesh, receive Finance Commission Grants released by the Ministry of Finance for providing basic services and creation and maintenance of community assets and civic infrastructure in rural areas. The year wise details of funds released to the State of Madhya Pradesh under the Fifteenth Finance Commission Grants during the period from 2022–23 to 2026–27 are as under: (Rs. in crore) 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 2944 3050 3080 3262.75 3150.35 (c) No, Sir. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj does not provide any separate special financial package specifically for the Chhindwara district. Panchayat, being “Local Government”, is a State subject and part of the State list of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. Thus, the primary responsibility of providing dedicated office infrastructure for Gram Panchayats and computer/internet connectivity in Panchayats lies with States/UTs. However, under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA), the Ministry supplements the efforts of States/UTs in building Panchayat infrastructure and Computers and peripherals, at a limited scale, with particular focus on the North Eastern States. Accordingly, since the inception of Revamped RGSA i.e. 2022-23, the Ministry has approved the procurement of 289 computers and the construction of 50 Panchayat Bhawans for the State of Madhya Pradesh. District-wise information is not maintained centrally. Further, the Ministry has developed digital applications such as eGramSwaraj, AuditOnline and mActionSoft to facilitate digital planning, accounting, audit and monitoring of Panchayat assets. The Ministry also extends technical support and capacity-building for effective adoption of these applications. Internet connectivity to Gram Panchayats is being improved through initiatives of the Department of Telecommunications, including the BharatNet project. ***** 2Annexure Annexure referred to in reply of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 419 answered on 21.07.2026 regarding ‘Digital Governance’. State wise Adoption Status of eGramSwaraj for FY 2025-26 Village Village Panchayats & Total Number of Village S.No State Name Panchayat Equivalent With Online Panchayats & Equivalent onboard Payment Andhra 1 Pradesh 13327 13320 13041 Arunachal 2 Pradesh 2108 2108 1541 3 Assam 2663 2198 2118 4 Bihar 8054 8054 8050 5 Chhattisgarh 11692 11688 11390 6 Goa 191 191 119 7 Gujarat 14619 14591 13948 8 Haryana 6227 6227 6051 Himachal 9 Pradesh 3615 3615 3597 10 Jharkhand 4345 4345 4316 11 Karnataka 5949 5949 5938 12 Kerala 941 941 939 Madhya 13 Pradesh 23011 23011 22352 14 Maharashtra 28002 27936 26773 15 Manipur 3175 161 113 16 Meghalaya 0 0 0 17 Mizoram 855 855 817 18 Nagaland 1312 984 0 19 Odisha 6794 6794 6788 20 Punjab 13236 13235 12551 21 Rajasthan 13128 11185 10835 22 Sikkim 199 199 197 23 Tamil Nadu 12482 12482 12443 24 Telangana 12760 12759 12372 25 Tripura 1194 1194 1192 26 Uttar Pradesh 57695 57693 57674 27 Uttarakhand 7812 7810 7347 28 West Bengal 3339 3339 3337 Total 258725 252864 245839 3State wise Adoption Status of eGramSwaraj for FY 2024-25 Village Village Panchayats & Total Number of Village S.No State Name Panchayat Equivalent with Online Panchayats & Equivalent onboard Payment Andhra 1 Pradesh 13328 13320 13002 Arunachal 2 Pradesh 2108 2108 426 3 Assam 2770 2300 2183 4 Bihar 8054 8054 8046 5 Chhattisgarh 11709 11704 11542 6 Goa 191 191 97 7 Gujarat 13611 13599 12988 8 Haryana 6227 6227 5979 Himachal 9 Pradesh 3615 3615 3557 10 Jharkhand 4345 4345 4335 11 Karnataka 5951 5951 5942 12 Kerala 941 941 941 Madhya 13 Pradesh 23011 23011 22987 14 Maharashtra 27955 27946 27027 15 Manipur 3175 161 125 16 Meghalaya 0 0 0 17 Mizoram 844 842 832 18 Nagaland 1311 984 0 19 Odisha 6794 6794 6794 20 Punjab 13238 13236 10240 21 Rajasthan 11229 11226 10907 22 Sikkim 199 199 195 23 Tamil Nadu 12525 12525 12520 24 Telangana 12994 12989 12648 25 Tripura 1194 1194 1175 26 Uttarakhand 7820 7817 7752 27 Uttar Pradesh 57691 57691 57655 28 West Bengal 3339 3339 3339 Total 256169 252309 243234 *** 4