Parliament Question: Operationalisation of the Panchayat Devolution Index

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PANCHAYATI RAJ LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.– 2584 ANSWERED ON- 04.08.2026 OPERATIONALISATION OF THE PANCHAYAT DEVOLUTION INDEX

2584. SMT. POONAMBEN HEMATBHAI MAADAM:

Will the Minister of PANCHAYATI RAJ be pleased to state:

(a) the details of the current status of operationalisation of the Panchayat Devolution Index across States and Union Territories;

(b) whether the Government has assessed the progress of States under the Index, if so, the details of top performing States under the Index;

(c) whether the findings of the Index are being utilised for policy formulation and capacity building, if so, the details thereof; and

(d) whether any incentives have been provided to improve performance under the Index if so, the details thereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF PANCHAYATI RAJ (SHRI RAJIV RANJAN SINGH)

(a) & (b) “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.

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.

This Ministry has released a report titled “Status of Devolution to Panchayats in States - An Indicative Evidence-Based Ranking, 2024” in February 2025 only to assess the effectiveness of devolution and the role of local governments in strengthening grassroots democracy of the States/UTs. This report presents the Devolution Index, which provides the overall scores and ranks for all States/Union Territories covered under Part-IX of the Constitution, based on six

identified dimensions: Framework, Functions, Finances, Functionaries, Capacity Enhancement, 1and 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, including top performing States, in Devolution Index and Sub-indices is attached as Annexure-I.

(c) & (d) Yes, Sir. 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. A total of 1,66,41,509 participants from financial year 2022-23 to 2026-27 (as on 10th July, 2026) have been trained under this scheme.

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.

This Ministry does not provide any incentive to improve performance under the Devolution Index. *** 2ANNEXURE-I Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) & (b) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2584 for answer on 04.08.2026 Ranking of States/UTs in Devolution Index (DI) and Sub-indices DI Framework Functions Finances Functionaries Capacity Building Accountability Ran Scor Scor Scor Scor Scor Scor k State State State State State State State Score e e e e e e General Category States

60.2 70.6 1 Karnataka 72.23 Kerala 83.56 Tamil Nadu Karnataka Gujarat 90.94 Telangana 86.19 Karnataka 81.33 4 5

57.6 62.8 2 Kerala 70.59 Maharashtra 74.74 Karnataka Kerala Tamil Nadu 84.25 Tamil Nadu 84.29 Kerala 81.18 2 9

57.4 55.7 3 Tamil Nadu 68.38 Karnataka 74.43 Odisha Tamil Nadu Kerala 82.99 Gujarat 83.96 Maharashtra 80.36 6 8

56.1 54.5 4 Maharashtra 61.44 Haryana 73.3 Rajasthan Rajasthan Karnataka 80.11 Goa 77.7 Uttar Pradesh 76.07 3 6 Madhya 53.8 53.5 Andhra 5 Uttar Pradesh 60.07 70 Kerala Odisha Chhattisgarh 78.33 76.69 Tamil Nadu Pradesh 6 7 Pradesh

46.8 52.9 Andhra 6 Gujarat 58.26 Odisha 69.2 Uttar Pradesh West Bengal Bihar 75.13 Uttar Pradesh 74.44 60.49 9 6 Pradesh

46.5 51.7 7 Rajasthan 56.67 Rajasthan 68.54 Maharashtra Uttar Pradesh Maharashtra 73.63 Maharashtra 73.35 Telangana 60.43 2 6

42.3 51.4 Andhra 8 West Bengal 56.52 Chhattisgarh 68.51 Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh 68.78 Karnataka 71.59 Chhattisgarh 58.17 9 5 Pradesh

41.2 46.8 9 Chhattisgarh 56.26 Tamil Nadu 66.83 Gujarat Telangana West Bengal 67.76 Kerala 71.11 West Bengal 57.87 3 6 Madhya 39.4 43.8 10 Telangana 55.1 West Bengal 62.3 Bihar Rajasthan 64.03 West Bengal 70.63 Odisha 51.92 Pradesh 7 6

338.7 Andhra 43.1 Madhya 11 Andhra Pradesh 54.43 Gujarat 61.65 Telangana Uttar Pradesh 63.13 70 Bihar 51.64 7 Pradesh 9 Pradesh Andhra 33.0 42.9 Madhya 12 Madhya Pradesh 50.94 60.08 West Bengal Maharashtra 62.22 Rajasthan 61.43 Gujarat 47.9 Pradesh 7 6 Pradesh

31.9 Madhya 42.3 13 Odisha 50.03 Uttar Pradesh 54.64 Punjab Telangana 58.01 Bihar 55.27 Haryana 41.93 7 Pradesh 4 Andhra 41.6 14 Bihar 48.24 Goa 52.88 30.5 Gujarat Goa 46.31 Chhattisgarh 47.61 Rajasthan 41.43 Pradesh 3

27.5 40.3 Madhya 15 Haryana 39.33 Bihar 49.76 Jharkhand Haryana Haryana 38.48 Odisha 43.43 36.55 6 8 Pradesh

18.6 36.3 16 Goa 37.71 Punjab 47.26 Bihar Punjab Jharkhand 27.83 Haryana 35.35 Goa 31.75 9 6

16.8 30.0 17 Punjab 29.34 Telangana 45.35 Haryana Jharkhand Odisha 27.42 Punjab 26.34 Punjab 24.87 2 5

26.8 18 Jharkhand 27.73 Jharkhand 42.3 Goa 6.63 Goa Punjab 8.2 Jharkhand 24.72 Jharkhand 16.47 8 Northeastern / Hilly Area States

42.5 59.1 Himachal Himachal 1 Tripura 57.58 Uttarakhand 70.95 Sikkim Tripura 70.06 83.68 Tripura 70.69 9 6 Pradesh Pradesh Himachal 28.6 Himachal 48.4 2 53.17 Tripura 66.5 Assam Assam 65.12 Tripura 76.82 Assam 57.14 Pradesh 6 Pradesh 1 Himachal 23.0 47.1 3 Uttarakhand 49.11 Sikkim 65.27 Uttarakhand Uttarakhand 60.49 Assam 71.96 Uttarakhand 52.72 Pradesh 1 1 Himachal Himachal 4 Assam 49.06 62.22 Tripura 21.5 Sikkim 43.5 Tripura 52.22 Uttarakhand 56.02 39.41 Pradesh Pradesh

16.6 34.0 5 Sikkim 43.81 Assam 54.04 Uttarakhand Assam Sikkim 31.42 Sikkim 53.23 Sikkim 34.94 8 6 Arunachal Arunachal Arunachal 13.1 Arunachal 6 17.96 41.5 12.7 Manipur# Manipur# 21.4 37.4 Manipur# 28.75 Pradesh# Pradesh# Pradesh# 7 Pradesh#

411.2 Arunachal Arunachal Arunachal 7 Manipur# 17.13 Manipur# 34.05 Manipur# 6.83 5.74 Manipur# 3.75 22.56 3 Pradesh# Pradesh# Pradesh# Union Territories Andaman Andaman Jammu and Jammu and 11.8 16.1 Lakshadweep Jammu and 1 27.85 &Nicobar 55.21 Puducherry 39.53 55.08 &Nicobar 45.73 Kashmir Kashmir 8 6 # Kashmir Islands Islands Andaman Andaman

11.0 Jammu and 13.2 Jammu and Jammu and 2 &Nicobar 27.15 Lakshadweep# 31.42 Ladakh 36.97 &Nicobar 54.82 39.76 8 Kashmir 9 Kashmir Kashmir Islands Islands Dadra & Andaman Jammu and Lakshadweep 10.3 Nagar Haveli 3 Lakshadweep# 18.32 23.07 &Nicobar 9.09 31.69 Ladakh 29.32 Puducherry 29.33 Kashmir # 6 and Daman & Islands Diu# Dadra & Nagar Haveli Lakshadweep Lakshadweep 4 Ladakh 16.18 Ladakh 22.21 Puducherry 4.63 5.45 Ladakh 25.25 15.18 28.13 and Daman & # # Diu# Dadra & Nagar Andaman 5 Puducherry 16.16 Haveli and 22.06 &Nicobar 4.5 Lakshadweep# 3.99 Puducherry 21.49 Puducherry 13.75 Ladakh 27.43 Daman & Diu# Islands Dadra & Dadra & Dadra & Dadra & Nagar Andaman Nagar Haveli Nagar Haveli Nagar Haveli 6 Haveli and 13.62 Puducherry 9.31 0 Ladakh 0 &Nicobar 20.94 8.57 24.91 and Daman & and Daman & and Daman Daman & Diu# Islands Diu# Diu# & Diu# National 29.1 37.0

43.89 54.29 50.96 54.63 47.51 Average 8 4

Source: Report titled “Status of Devolution to Panchayats in States - An Indicative Evidence-Based Ranking, 2024”

Note: #States for which previous data is used 5