New Delhi, Dec 30 (NationPress) To bolster Panchayati Raj Institutions and improve grassroots governance throughout rural India, the government has undertaken a series of initiatives aimed at capacity building, training, digital governance, institutional reinforcement, and promoting community involvement.

By 2025, in line with the localization of Sustainable Development Goals and the vision of Viksit Bharat, these efforts have emphasized the pivotal role of Panchayats in fostering sustainable rural growth, as noted by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.

For instance, during January, Prime Minister Narendra Modi oversaw the distribution of property cards under the SVAMITVA Scheme, granting legal ownership documents to 65 lakh rural individuals in a single event.

This initiative spanned over 50,000 villages across 10 states and 2 Union Territories, raising the total number of property cards issued under SVAMITVA to 2.25 crore by the end of January.

As part of the SVAMITVA initiative, drone surveys have been completed in 3.28 lakh villages, with approximately 2.76 crore property cards prepared for 1.82 lakh villages (as of December 16).

Additionally, the ministry has launched a campaign to utilize popular digital platforms to raise awareness on crucial matters concerning Panchayati Raj.

They also introduced ‘SabhaSaar’, an AI-driven meeting summarizer tool that automatically creates structured minutes from audio or video recordings of Gram Sabhas.

Employing Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing, this tool supports 13 regional languages through AI-based translation engines integrated with Bhashini, the government's National Language Translation platform.

As of December 10, 92,869 Gram Panchayats across 30 states/UTs have held 1,43,124 meetings and produced automated minutes with the SabhaSaar tool, significantly easing the documentation burden while enhancing transparency and accountability in local governance.

Furthermore, eGramSwaraj, the work-based accounting application now available in 22 Indian languages, continues to improve Panchayat financial management.

More than 2.52 lakh Gram Panchayats and 5,400 Block Panchayats have uploaded their development plans (GPDP and BPDP), and 2.52 lakh Gram Panchayats have adopted the eGramSwaraj-PFMS integration for the fiscal year 2025-26.

In addition to infrastructure development, the ministry has prioritized digital empowerment by approving 19,472 computers for Gram Panchayats with established office facilities.