India, July 28 -- Union Panchayati Raj Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh on Monday launched the Atmanirbhar Panchayat Programme, the SAMARTH Panchayat Portal and released the Model Own Source Revenue (OSR) Rules aimed at strengthening the financial autonomy of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and enhancing grassroots governance. Launching the initiatives at a function in Krishi Bhawan here, Singh said financially empowered and technologically enabled panchayats were central to the vision of a developed India by 2047. "Self-reliant Panchayats are key to realising the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047," the minister said, adding that strengthening local bodies with digital tools and sustainable revenue streams would improve governance and accelerate inclusive rural development.
According to the ministry, the Atmanirbhar Panchayat Programme will help gram and block panchayats identify local assets and opportunities and develop them into revenue-generating projects with technical support from the Centre. The projects will be financed through public-private partnerships, corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds, convergence with government schemes and bank financing, with NABARD and HUDCO serving as institutional partners. The ministry plans to develop 350 such projects over four years, including 50 in the first year and 100 annually over the following three years. The minister also launched the SAMARTH Panchayat Portal, a digital platform designed to enable gram panchayats to manage the entire lifecycle of their own source revenues, including taxpayer registration, demand generation, online payments, collections and real-time monitoring.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.