Parliament Question: Model Women-Friendly Gram Panchayat Scheme

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PANCHAYATI RAJ LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. †1566 ANSWERED ON 28/07/2026 MODEL WOMEN-FRIENDLY GRAM PANCHAYAT SCHEME †1566.SHRI SANJAY UTTAMRAO DESHMUKH: SHRI SANJAY HARIBHAU JADHAV: SHRI OMPRAKASH BHUPALSINH ALIAS PAVAN RAJENIMBALKAR: Will the Minister of PANCHAYATI RAJ be pleased to state: (a) the key objectives and the details of the Model Women-Friendly Gram Panchayats initiative; (b) the manner in which these Panchayats are proposed to be selected and developed in each district; (c) the steps being taken to ensure effective participation of women representatives in the workshops and follow-up initiatives and the district-wise details thereof, in particular of Maharashtra; (d) the manner in which long-term policy changes at the ground level are being ensured through the outcomes of the said workshops along with the steps taken in this regard; and (e) whether there is any set mechanism in place to share best practices and experiences for elected women representatives to promote women-led governance in various States through a collaborative approach, if so, the details thereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF PANCHAYATI RAJ (SHRI RAJIV RANJAN SINGH ALIAS LALAN SINGH) (a) and (b) Under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA), the Ministry has taken up capacity building of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) through training of Elected Representatives (ERs), including Women Elected Representatives (WERs), functionaries, and other stakeholders to enhance their leadership and governance capabilities. As part of this effort, the Ministry launched the Sashakt Panchayat Netri Abhiyan during the National Workshop held on 4–5th March 2025 in New Delhi to empower Women Panchayat Leaders with knowledge and skills on various aspects of rural governance. The campaign also saw the launch of the Model Women-Friendly Gram Panchayat (MWFGP) initiative, along with other initiatives for Women-Led Development. In line with the broader objective of saturating 1all Gram Panchayats in the country across all nine themes of the Localization of Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs), the MWFGP initiative aims to create an inclusive and gender sensitive local governance system that ensures women’s participation, safety, rights, and empowerment at the grassroots level towards the attainment of Theme 9: Women-Friendly Panchayat. These MWFGPs will act as learning centres for replication of the interventions made by them among other Gram Panchayats subsequently. States/UTs have been advised to identify one Gram Panchayat in each district for transformation into a Model Women-Friendly Gram Panchayat (MWFGP), in consultation with the relevant line departments, and it was also advised to consider the Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI) 1.0 score as one of the selection criteria for the same. In pursuance of this direction from the Ministry, 32 States/UTs have identified 744 Gram Panchayats as MWFGPs. (c) & (d) 2-Day National Workshop on Best Practices of Model Women Friendly Gram Panchayat was organized on 8-9 January 2026 at YASHADA, Maharashtra. A total of 216 participants from 13 States/UT have attended the said workshop. Review & Follow-up meetings with the participating States/UT have been held to ensure effective participation in the workshop. Out of 216, 87 participants from 34 Districts of Maharashtra have participated in the said workshop. Furthermore, the Ministry has advised the States/UTs to organise Conventions of Women Elected Representatives (WERs) to showcase the exemplary practices of women Panchayat leaders, as well as Quarterly Review Meetings on the progress of Model Women-Friendly Gram Panchayats (MWFGPs) to assess and monitor their performance. During FY 2025–26 and FY 2026–27 (up to 10 July 2026), a total of 29,567 Women Elected Representatives (WERs) participated in the Women Elected Representatives Conventions organized across the country. Out of these, 3,531 WERs participated in the Conventions held in the State of Maharashtra during the said period. In addition, a total of 7,772 representatives of MWFGPs have attended Quarterly Review Meetings in the FY 2025-26 to 2026-27 (as on 10th July 2026), and 422 representatives have participated from Maharashtra during the said reporting period. The outcomes of the workshops on MWFGP are being institutionalized through capacity building of Women Elected Representatives, integration of a gender-responsive plan into the Gram Panchayat Development Plan, and development of a repository of exemplary cases to scale up best practices for ensuring policy and institutional changes at the grassroots level. (e) Yes, Sir. Best Practices of the Model Women-Friendly Gram Panchayats and various initiatives of Women-Led Governance undertaken by women elected representatives have been disseminated at the National & State Levels through workshops, training programmes, and seminars. In addition, a National Conference on the occasion of International Women’s Day for Women Elected Representatives was organized on 11th March 2026. The conference witnessed the exemplary practices of Model Women Friendly Gram Panchayats across the country, and the launch of the Compendium of Best Practices on MWFGPs. **** 2