☀️ Schemes
Cabinet approves ₹7,395 crore PM Viksit Gram Swaraj Yojana to strengthen panchayats
In 60 seconds: The Union Cabinet has approved the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Gram Swaraj Yojana, a centrally sponsored scheme worth ₹7,395.55 crore for 2026-27 to 2030-31. The Centre will pay ₹4,869.48 crore and states ₹2,526.07 crore. It aims to train about 32 lakh elected representatives and officials every year across more than 2.55 lakh panchayats, and help villages prepare development plans and online audits.
Why it matters
Panchayats will get about ₹4.35 lakh crore in grants over five years. Trained leaders, proper plans and audits can make sure the money reaches roads, water and schools in villages.
Explain it simply
Give a new tea stall owner a big sum without teaching him to keep accounts, and the money may vanish. This scheme teaches panchayats to plan and keep accounts first.
The 3-minute read
What happened
Each year the scheme will support about 2.55 lakh Gram Panchayat Development Plans on the eGramSwaraj portal and at least 2.55 lakh online audit plans through AuditOnline.
Background
It covers all states and Union Territories, including traditional rural bodies in areas where Part IX panchayats do not exist.
How it works
States and UTs will make annual action plans, approved by a Central Empowered Committee. No permanent posts will be created; contract technical staff may be hired at state, district and block level.
What's next
Awareness campaigns, run through Gram Sabhas and digital platforms, will each aim to reach at least 1 crore citizens. The scheme also aims to help panchayats raise their own revenue.
What it means for you
Attend your Gram Sabha and check your village's development plan on the eGramSwaraj portal to see how money is being spent.
Key numbers
- ₹7,395.55 crore: Total outlay, 2026-27 to 2030-31
- 2.55 lakh+: Panchayats and local bodies covered
- 32 lakh: Representatives and officials trained each year
- ₹4.35 lakh crore: Finance Commission grants for rural local bodies
Both sides
- The government: Better planning, training and audits will help panchayats use large grants transparently.
- Watchers of local government: Training helps, but panchayats will stay weak unless they get real powers and their own revenue.
Key terms explained
- Centrally sponsored scheme
- A scheme whose cost is shared by the Centre and the states, and which the states carry out.
- Panchayat
- An elected village-level body of local self-government, given constitutional status in 1993.
The story so far
- 24 Apr 1993: The 73rd Constitutional Amendment comes into force, giving panchayats constitutional status. The 73rd Amendment added Part IX to the Constitution, with regular elections and reserved seats for panchayats. 24 April is marked as National Panchayati Raj Day.
- 2026-27 to 2030-31: Sixteenth Finance Commission recommends about ₹4.35 lakh crore for rural local bodies. The Sixteenth Finance Commission recommended grants of about ₹4.35 lakh crore for rural local bodies over five years. The new scheme is meant to help panchayats use this money well.
- Today: Cabinet clears ₹7,395 crore PM Viksit Gram Swaraj Yojana for panchayats
Exam notes (UPSC, SSC, Banking, PSC)
- The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 added Part IX (Articles 243 to 243-O) on panchayats and the Eleventh Schedule with 29 subjects.
- The Finance Commission is set up by the President under Article 280; it also recommends grants for local bodies.
- In a centrally sponsored scheme, the Centre and states share the cost and states implement it; a central sector scheme is fully funded by the Centre.
- Article 243M keeps certain areas, such as Scheduled Areas and the states of Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram, outside Part IX.
Likely exam question: What powers and responsibilities does Part IX of the Constitution give panchayats? How can capacity building improve rural local governance?