Viksit panchayats offer us a pathway to Viksit Bharat

Developed country status requires that no citizen gets left behind. Empower rural institutions

are, respectively, vice chairperson of Piramal Group and head of Aspirational Bharat Collaborative, Piramal Foundation

Decades before the term ‘Viksit Bharat’ was coined, Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali held out an Indian vision: “Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; Where knowledge is free; Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.” This encapsulates Viksit Bharat. With visible changes in many sectors, India is moving rapidly towards becoming a developed nation by 2047. Though urbanization is making rapid strides, 64.1% of our rural population (as per World Bank) governed by Gram Panchayats still has miles to go. The current Amrit Kaal cusp calls for us to examine the crucial role of Panchayats led by Sarpanches. As they play a pivotal role in grassroots empowerment and societal progress, it is essential to keep them at the centre of India’s developmental agenda, anchored by the decentralization of authority.

Devolution of power: A Reserve Bank of India report highlights that states with a higher devolution index perform better on socio-economic development. So, for Viksit

Bharat, Gram Panchayats (GPs) need to operate independently: They must identify, plan and implement projects with agility, aligning them with local needs established through community consultations. The government has categorized Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into neatly defined Local Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs) and issued guidelines for themebased planning. The GP Development Plan (GPDP) necessitates the formation of a GP Planning Facilitation Team (GPPFT) at each GP as a forum to facilitate the participation of various community stakeholders and departmental representatives and guide the planning and implementation of initiatives.

For achieving LSDGs, the devolution of three Fs (funds, functions and functionaries) is crucial. This will empower GPs and make their functioning transparent, accountable and efficient. The devolution of powers and functions to GPs varies considerably across the country. Kerala, for example, has devolved major functions to GPs. Its welfare programme Kudumbashree has made a significant difference in the lives of citizens. Similarly, Karnataka has devolved powers to GPs and introduced a system of preparing a GP Human Development Index. We need collective effort in various states to devolve authority to GPs and leverage their capacity to achieve our collective aspirations.

Data for democratic decisions: India is leading the way for the world with digital technology to transform citizen services, exemplified by innovations like Aadhaar, UPI, Co-win and ABHA. Another useful innovation, the Universal

Citizen Interface is expected to act as an interface between citizens and government welfare schemes at the GP level. This tool’s data orientation can guide the village Sarpanch on domain and locality-specific issues, enabling prioritization, planning and alignment with state and central schemes. By disseminating information on various welfare schemes in local languages, GPs can use its potential for hyper-local problem-solving at scale.

Empower women leaders for a Viksit transformation: With women comprising nearly half of India’s population, the participation of women at all levels of governance is the need of the hour. The 73rd Constitutional

Amendment Act mandates 33.3% reservation for women and marginalized communities in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) nationwide. Various instances show how decisions taken by empowered women have led to a profound societal transformation. Take the case of Jyoti Behar Devi, Sarpanch from Gumla, Jharkhand, who stopped the sale and consumption of alcohol in her panchayat and directed people towards livelihood opportunities. Anita Devi, Sarpanch from Gaya, Bihar, converted her vehicle into a 24×7 ambulance, mobilized multiple stakeholders and led lastmile convergence, which reduced home deliveries from 65% to 8% in less than a year.

India has an opportunity to harness the potential of elected women representatives at PRIs to drive crucial social behaviour changes in health, education, water, agriculture, sanitation and more. Empowering these women with additional support can spark millions of micro innovations required to address local challenges.

Create motivation and competence: India has some of the world’s best policies, legislation and welfare schemes. The efficacy of these is determined by an effective team with an enabling structure to drive the delivery of quality services on time. Top leaders at all levels can deliver on their development agendas thanks to such teams. This needs to happen just as efficiently at the rural level.

Andhra Pradesh has enabled the setting up of a ‘village secretariat’ at the GP level to induct teams for good governance, streamline administrative processes, enhance service delivery and empower local communities. If scaled up, this model, with appropriate customization as per local contexts, can empower more GPs across the country.

Our national aspiration of Viksit Bharat will require collective reflection aimed at a re-imagination of how Gram Panchayats are enabled to deliver services to citizens.

Viksit panchayats can lead us to Tagore’s Heaven of Freedom: Viksit panchayats and Viksit Bharat are two sides of the same coin, as the goal implies that every citizen of our country must have access to quality public services and government schemes and benefits. It is only when no one is left behind that we can say with pride that we are citizens of a developed country.