Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj releases Report on Panchayat Development Index at National Workshop on Panchayat Development Index

Source: The post is based on the article “Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj releases Report on Panchayat Development Index at National Workshop on Panchayat Development Index” published in PIB on 28th June 2023

What is the News?

The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has released a ‘Panchayat Development Index’ (PDI) has been formulated by the Centre to evaluate different indicators responsible for ensuring targeted development in villages.

About the Panchayat Development Index

The Index will be a compact statistical tool to measure and monitor development at panchayat level. On a pilot basis, data from four districts in Maharashtra — Pune, Sangli, Satara and Solapur — was compiled.

Function: The Ministry of Panchayati Raj is anchoring the process of Localization of Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs) in PRIs. To this end, it is bringing together different stakeholders at one forum imbibing the spirit of the ‘Whole of Government & Whole of Society’ approach.

The Panchayat Development Index is a logical combination of various steps taken by the Ministry for years. It will tell what happens to the money that is spent on development, its outcome and what needs to be focused upon.

Aim: To measure the incremental progress towards the achievement of LSDGs through Panchayats.

Scoring method: PDI Committee interacted with 19 States on their efforts to develop LIFs for implementation of LSDGs; a participatory and theme-based planning process is adopted for development.

The PDI ranks panchayats on the basis of scores, and categorises them into four grades. Those with scores under 40% fall in grade D, 40-60% in grade C, 60-75% in grade B, 75 to 90% in category A, while those scoring above 90% will be categorised as A+.

Themes: The nine themes taken into account are poverty-free and enhanced livelihood in the village, healthy village, child-friendly village, water-sufficient village, clean and green village, village with self-sufficient infrastructure, socially just and socially secured villages, village with good governance, and women-friendly village.

Applications of the PDI: States/ UTs can use the PDI for Panchayati Raj Awards and emphasise on adopting a data-driven and evidence-based approach towards developmental activities. Once India achieve the Panchayat Development Index (PDI), India will be able to create villages that have all amenities like a city.

What are the findings of the pilot study of PDI?

The pilot study has shown how no attention has been paid on certain themes. The pilot study showed 70 per cent of the panchayats in the four districts of Maharashtra are in Category C, while 27 per cent are in Category B. Around 30 per cent of panchayats are in grade B in being clean and green villages, and 30 panchayats in grade C when it comes to being women-friendly.