New Delhi, May 3 (IANS) The Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj will organise a two-day national workshop on the preparation of panchayat development plans (PDPs) on Monday and Tuesday at the Dr Ambedkar International Centre here, according to an official statement issued on Sunday.

The inaugural session will also mark the launch of the People’s Plan Campaign (PPC) booklet for the Preparation of Panchayat Development Plan (2026-27), the Quality Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) booklet and the revamped eGramSwaraj planning portal. While discussions will be held around themes, such as the evolving role of thematic Panchayat Development Plans and the framework of the 16th Finance Commission grants, the statement said.

Bringing together senior officials of Government of India, representatives of states and union territories and key Panchayati Raj stakeholders, the workshop will feature technical sessions and hands-on group exercises wherein state and UT teams will prepare model plans on the revamped portal across ten thematic areas — spanning livelihoods, health, child-friendly governance, water sufficiency, sanitation, infrastructure, social justice, good governance, women’s empowerment, PESA and Forest Rights Act compliance, the statement explained.

This two-day workshop is aimed at strengthening data-driven, participatory planning at the grassroots level, ensuring that Panchayat Development Plans for the year 2026-27 are aligned with the Sixteenth Finance Commission conditionalities and deliver measurable outcomes for rural communities, contributing to the vision of Viksit Panchayat as the foundational unit of Viksit Bharat.

The workshop will be inaugurated in the presence of Vivek Bharadwaj, Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj and Ashok Meena, Secretary, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, who will deliver keynote addresses.

Under the Digital India Programme, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj is implementing the e-Panchayat Mission Mode Project (MMP) across all states and UTs of the country. This initiative aims to revamp the functioning of Panchayats, making them more transparent, accountable, and effective.

As part of this initiative, the Ministry has launched eGramSwaraj, an online planning and accounting application designed to simplify Panchayat activities, such as planning, accounting, and budgeting.

As many as 2.18 lakh gram panchayats of the total 2.68 lakh in the country have already been made service-ready for providing high-speed internet services under the BharatNet project.

–IANS

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