Panchayat Development Index will help in comparing Panchayats
- Recently, the Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj informed Lok Sabha about the Panchayat Development Index.
Panchayat Development Index (PDI)
- PDI is a multi-domain and multi-sectoral index that is intended to be used to assess the overall holistic development, performance and progress of panchayats.
- It is a tool for evaluating and measuring the progress made by grassroots institutions in achieving localised SDGs.
Thematic Scores
- Thematic scores, obtained through PDI, allow for the assessment of Panchayats' progress across nine themes of localized SDGs.
- Poverty free and enhanced livelihood in village
- Healthy village
- child friendly village
- Women friendly village
- Water sufficient village
- clean and green village
- Village with self-sufficient infrastructure
- Socially just and socially secured villages
- Village with good governance
Ranks
- The Index ranks panchayats on the basis of scores and categorises them into four grades.
- Scores under 40 percent fall in grade D
- 40-60 percent in grade C
- 60-75 percent in grade B
- 75 to 90 percent in category A
- Those scoring above 90 percent are categorised as A+
Knowledge Sharing Initiatives
- The Ministry has implemented various knowledge-sharing initiatives to enhance awareness of PDI among stakeholders.
- State-level workshops, audio-visual films, learning modules and other methods are employed to disseminate information on the significance and institutionalisation of PDI.
National Panchayats Award (NPA)
- Under the revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA), the ministry incentivizes best-performing Panchayats through the National Panchayats Award (NPA).
- This award assesses their performance in attaining SDGs, promoting positive competition among Panchayats.
Prelims Takeaway
- Panchayat Development Index (PDI)
- National Panchayats Award (NPA)