Source: The post Panchayat Advancement Index improves grassroots data use has been created, based on the article “Getting the ‘micropicture’ at the panchayat level” published in “The Hindu” on 20 May 2025. Advancement Index improves grassroots data use.
UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper2-governance-devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein.
Context: Despite growing emphasis on evidence-based decision-making, its implementation remains weak. Delayed Census, poor data accessibility, and lack of user-friendly formats hinder data usage at all levels. In this situation, the Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI) stands out as a tool to promote grassroots-level data-driven planning and help achieve local development goals.
Gaps in Evidence-Based Governance
- Availability Without Usability: Government portals host vast data. The NDSAP, 2012, aimed to provide open access to non-sensitive datasets. However, data is often not presented in a user-friendly or reusable format, limiting its utility.
- Overwhelming Data and Weak Tools: Public and researchers feel overwhelmed due to the complexity and volume of data. Visualisation tools on data.gov.in and other platforms are underdeveloped. Analytics features are also lacking.
- Experience Over Evidence: Due to these shortcomings, ministers and senior bureaucrats often rely on intuition or personal experience instead of structured evidence for decision-making.
Local Data and Its Poor Integration
- Top-Down Portal Design: Data is generated at gram panchayats but is used mainly by officials at higher levels. Portals are designed to serve the needs of department heads, not local representatives or staff.
- Lack of Micro-Level Insight: The focus remains on presenting large-scale data. Local-level information, though collected, is not easily accessible or usable by the community or grassroots governance.
Significance and Structure of the Panchayat Advancement Index
- Robust and Inclusive Framework: The PAI Baseline Report 2022–23, released in April 2025, includes data from over 2.16 lakh GPs. It uses 435 indicators (331 mandatory, 104 optional) and 566 unique data points across nine LSDG themes aligned with the National Indicator Framework.
- Clear, Localised Presentation: The PAI displays data in formats understandable even by sarpanches or ward members. This empowers local actors to assess and improve their gram panchayat’s performance.
- Data Disparities Between States: While 25 States/UTs shared near-complete data, Uttar Pradesh submitted data for only 23,207 of its 57,702 GPs (40%). This poor participation raises concerns about development tracking in the State.
Connecting Data with Action
- From Indicators to Interventions: PAI links scores to local conditions, such as health. This makes it easier to identify gaps and take timely action.
- Collaboration Drives Performance: Strong coordination between elected leaders, frontline workers, departments, and CSOs improves PAI outcomes and supports integrated development.
- Useful for Targeted Planning: The PAI portal allows report generation at the constituency level, supporting targeted interventions by MPs and MLAs on specific LSDG areas.
Strengthening Local Data Use
- Urgent Need for Analysts: Trained data analysts should be deployed at district and block levels to create regular reports for stakeholders.
- Role of Educational Institutions: Over 4,000 institutions under Unnat Bharat Abhiyan should study nearby GPs and help communities understand and act on their PAI scores.
- Smart Resource Allocation: PAI can guide allocation of CSR, DMF, MPLADS, and MLALAD funds for better SDG outcomes by 2030.
Conclusion:
PAI is more than a performance ranking—it is a development roadmap. With regular updates, stronger analytics, and community involvement, it can transform how India achieves grassroots development.
Question for practice:
Discuss how the Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI) helps bridge the gaps in evidence-based local governance and planning.
