Ministry of Rural Development

Government of India

Action agenda for

Panchayati Raj
Institution members for
Rural Development
Giriraj Singh
Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj
Government of India

MESSAGE
Most of the population of our country lives in villages. Happy and prosperous
villages are a major component of the development of the nation. Keeping in-sync
with Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision, through various programmes of rural
development, the Ministry of Rural Development is committed to improve the
standard of living of the people of rural areas. The Ministry has made significant
changes in the implementation strategies of its programmes in the last eight years.
Information Technology and Space Science are being widely used to
bringtransparency and ensure accountability in their implementation. The Ministry
of Rural Development is striving to achieve the objectives of transformation of rural
infrastructure, housing for all, employment, to provide connectivity to all villages of
the country by road, water conservation, social security of villagers and poor,
providing them assured livelihood resources, skill development of rural youth,
improving the livelihood level of women and empowering them etc in a
time-bound manner.

I am happy to present the booklet published on the important achievements of the

Ministry of Rural Development in the last eight years. I firmly believe that through
rural development programmes, we will be able to bring about an unexpected
positive change in the rural scenario and significantly improve the quality of life of
the villagers.
 Index

1 Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 3

2 Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission 6

3 Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana- Gramin 10

4 Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana 12

5 Deen Dayal Upadhyaya – Grameen Kaushalya Yojana 15

6 Rural Self Employment Training Institutes 16

7 National Social Assistance Programme 18

8 Other Schemes 20
Role of Gram Panchayat in Implementation
of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act (Mahatma Gandhi NREGA)
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (Mahatma Gandhi NREGS) is
a demand driven wage employment programme which provide for the enhancement of
livelihood security of the households in rural areas of the country by providing at least one
hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in every financial year to every household
whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. The Gram Panchayat (GP) is the
pivotal body for planning and implementation of Mahatma Gandhi NREGA. Gram Panchayats
are to implement at least 50 per cent of the works in terms of cost. Where the Gram Panchayat
is the implementing agency, all works shall mandatorily be approved by the Gram Sabha. The
Gram Panchayat is the custodian of the shelf of projects and all PIAs working in the Gram
Panchayat should report their plans to the Gram Panchayat, which should duly incorporate
those in the annual plan of Mahatma Gandhi NREGS. For the works implemented by PIAs other
than Gram Panchayat, approval may be obtained from the Block/ Intermediate/District
Panchayat, depending on the level of engagement. Gram Panchayat level shelf of projects
should be at least two times the anticipated demand for employment.It has been provided in
this Act that it will be the responsibility of the Gram Panchayat to provide employment to at
least one third of the women in the work. Arrangements for craches etc. should also be ensured
for their children at the workplace. Women will also be provided wages at the same level as
men. If women bring children below the age of six years with them to the workplace and their
number is five or more, a woman will be engaged in the care of the children, but she will get full
wages. There should be provision of drinking water at the workplace.

In addition, the GP is responsible for the

following important activities:
1) Receiving applications for registration

2) Verifying registration applications

3) Registering households

4) Issuing Job Cards(JCs)

5) Receiving applications for work

6) Issuing dated receipts for these applications for work

7) Allotting work within fifteen days of submitting the application or from the date when
work is sought in the case of an advance application, whichever is later, irrespective of the
implementing agency
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8) Conducting periodical surveys to assess demand for work

9) Identification and planning of works, developing shelf of projects including

determination of the order of their priority. This list is forwarded to Programme Officer for
scrutiny and preliminary approval

10) Executing works that shall meet the required technical standards and measurements

11) Maintaining 7 registers, work files and case records

12) Maintaining accounts and providing utilization certificates in formats prescribed by

Central/ State Govt.

13) Preparing annual report containing the facts and figures and achievements relating to the
implementation of the Schemes within its jurisdiction and, copy of the same to be made
available to the public on demand and on payment of such fee as may be specified in the
Scheme

14) Awareness generation and social mobilization

15) Rozgar Diwas - Every Gram Panchayat(GP) should organise a Rozgar Diwas at least once
every month. At this event the GP should pro-actively invite applications for work from
potential workers for the current as well as subsequent quarters. Dated receipts will be issued
to the applicants at this event. Rozgar Diwas should be earmarked for processing work
applications and related activities such as disclosure of information, allocation of work,
payment of wages and payment of unemployment allowances. However, these activities
should not be restricted to ‘Employment Guarantee Day’. In particular, applications for work
should be accepted at any time. The President of the Gram Panchayat and all staff appointed
at the level of the GP (Gram Rozgar Sevak) to assist MGNREGS should be present on ‘Rozgar
Diwas’.

16) Convening the Gram Sabha for planning and social audit

17) Make available all relevant documents including the Muster Rolls, bills, vouchers,
measurement books, copies of sanction orders and other connected books of account and
papers to the Gram Sabha for the purpose of conducting the social audit

18) Monitoring implementation at the village level

19) Pro-actively disclosing following information:

A) At worksites
• Details of works both completed and on-going (including wages paid and material
component).
B) At GP Offices and other prominent public places
• Names of persons (with JC numbers) who have worked, days worked and wages
paid to them in the format.
• Quantity and price of materials purchased for each project along with name of
agency which supplied the material.

20) Providing all information specified in Audit of Schemes Rules to the Social Audit Unit.

21) The National Mobile Monitoring System should be fully utilized.

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Schemes of special importance
1) The Ministry has initiated an integrated holistic planning of the Gram Panchayats based
on watershed development principles (ridge to valley approach) using Geographical informa-
tion system (GIS). The GIS based GP plans have been prepared for 2,60,907 GPs out of total
2,69,765 GPs of the country as on 13.10.2022 in a saturation mode for three years planning.
Panchayats are requested not only to carry out site verification of schemes included in this
plan but also to take natural resource management schemes from this list only. Also, other
funds in their panchayat, such as other works to be taken from the Fifteenth Finance Commis-
sion, should also be selected from them.

2) Every panchayat must make an Amrit Sarovar.

3) Panchayats should plant more and more fruitful, bamboo, moringa or other useful trees in
their works, so that along with the climate, means of sustainable income are also available.
Plantation of bamboo, moringa etc. is especially beneficial.

4) Self-help groups and village organisations have been formed in every village. They have
been given the responsibility of setting up poverty alleviation schemes in villages. Panchayats
should ensure that special priority is given to the demand for schemes emanating from them.

5) Individual benefit schemes such as fruitful plantation, dobha, vermicompost, animal

houses, etc. help in getting sustainable employment. Therefore, special priority should be
given to them.

6) In villages where there is a good number of cows, bulls, buffaloes, etc., their gram pancha-
yats can take deenbandhu model based biogas for the entire village from this scheme, so that
not only it gets fuel for cooking food at home, but also provides useful liquid manure.

7) Monitoring of ground water should be done in two-three selected wells of each village
through Jaldoot mobile app.

Comparative Physical Progress between years

2006-14 to 2014-22
Financial year Total number of Portions issued Number of
mandays generated by the Centre works completed

Financial year 2006-07 1660 Crore `13,220 Crore 153.45 lakhs

to financial year 2013-14

Financial Year 2014-15 2180 Crore `5,21,127 Crore 547.62 lakhs

to financial year 2022-23

5
The Panchayati Raj Institutions-
Community based Organisations
Convergence Approach under Deendayal
Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods
Mission (DAY-NRLM)
The PRI-CBO Convergence piloted under DAY-NRLM focuses on enabling the working together of
Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) and Community Based Organizations (CBOs), promoted under
the Mission, to strengthen access to entitlements, improve livelihoods, enable social inclusion
and enhance overall community participation in local governance. It is based on the premise that
a synergy between both these institutions can be mutually beneficial in addressing the issue of
poverty for the larger goal of socio-economic development of the village. The Convergence
project focuses on strengthening capacities of the Community Based Organisations and
Panchayat Raj Institutions through various training and field-based engagements to ensure that
the needs of the poor and marginalized are addressed effectively. The project also aims to focus
on enhancing women’s involvement in participatory planning processes for local development.
Ministry of Rural Development through this aims to increase annual income of each family upto
at least one lakh.

For this purpose, action has been taken by the Ministries of Panchayat Raj and Rural Development
to establish strong coordination between the Gram Panchayat Development Plan being
constituted by the Panchayats and the Employment Oriented Rural Poverty Alleviation Scheme
by women groups. In this regard, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and Rural Development has been
issuing joint advisories continuously since 2018-19. In 2021, the Ministry of Rural Development
has developed a mobile application that enables Self Help Groups and Federations to prepare
and digitally provide VPRP schemes for presentation to Gram Sabhas. In the current year, all states
are preparing plans using this mobile app.

Panchayati Raj Institutions are required

to do so in this behalf:-
• Creation and capacity building of community cadre for convergence
A strong pool of local resource groups (LRGs) and Internal mentors (IMs) have been developed
under the project. There are a total of 4642 LRGs and 323 Internal Mentors who have been
engaged in facilitating the project as of April 2021 across 15 pilot states. Owing to their social
capital, familiarity and understanding of the community, experience in the implementation of
project activities and negotiation with stakeholders, this resource group has been instrumental in
scaling up the project strategies.

6
• Capacity Building of PRI Members:
The project lends support to the Local Self Government Institutions (LSGIs) in making the annual
action plan preparations (Gram Panchayat Development Plan) more inclusive and participatory
by integrating demands from the VPRP into GPDP, by creating awareness among the LSGIs on
their roles and responsibilities and their capacity building in the areas of social mobilization,
participatory identification of poor, allocating resources to the priority demands Orientation and
exposure visits of GP/VC elected representatives were held in all the states in the project areas on
NRLM and areas of convergence including the role of SHG federations in GPDP and VPRP process.

• Improved access to rights and entitlements

One of the initial activities of the project is to ensure that basic entitlements are obtained by SHG
members and their families. These entitlements include individual as well as household level
demands which are collected from the SHG members and are consolidated and included in the
plan by the CBO network. The achievements in demands of various pilot states can be seen
below:

• Enhancing livelihoods through MGNREGS

To facilitate livelihood generation for women, convergence with MGNREGS was seen as a produc-
tive opportunity with LSGIs and SHGs as key stakeholders. This was achieved through the contin-
uous process of identification of MGNREGS individual and community work demands and negoti-
ations and facilitation with the LSGIs. For the financial year 2021-22, individual work demands
that came up from 1643 VOs and 23,345 SHGs of four pilot states, included demands of land
development, livelihood sheds, compost pits, individual irrigation works, and individual planta-
tion works.

• Increased participation of women in Gram Sabha:

Gram Sabhas, as institutionally mandated platforms, have ensured the most transparent and
participatory platform for convergence activities. Creating awareness through mobilisation
activities like rallies, skits and performances is a major focus area of the project. Active participa-
tion of women, especially SHG members, has increased over the years reflecting an increase in
political consciousness along with a will to actively engage in the decision making of develop-
ment activities in the Panchayats. As part of GPDP 2021, Gram Sabhas were conducted from 2nd
October onwards and VOs have taken proactive role in mobilizing SHG members and submitted
the plans prepared by the them to the LSGIs

• Convergence with Line Departments to improve livelihood opportunities

An increase in the generation of livelihood opportunities for women in SHGs and their families is
integral to poverty eradication. The CBO network across the intervention areas has played a
crucial role in generating livelihood demands for the financial year 2021-22. Through conver-
gence initiatives and intervention of LSGIs and line departments (agriculture department, fishery
department, handloom department) some of these demands were achieved. For example,
agricultural inputs like seeds and spray machines were distributed, animal vaccination camps
held, skill training and loan disbursed to start micro-enterprises of SHG members, were some of
the ways through which line departments extended their support.

7
• Special Initiatives under PRI-CBO Convergence Project:
For the financial year 2021-22, awareness campaigns and rallies, convergence camps facilitating
doorstep delivery of entitlements, adult literacy classes, covid vaccination camps, school re-enrol-
ment of drop-outs were some of the initiatives that the CBO undertook in convergence with
various line departments, as part of the social development component of the VPRP, and to
address local issues in their village.

• Creation of institutional platforms:

In the absence of a Panchayat level federation of the Community based organization, Village
Organisation Coordination Committees (VOCC) have been formed in the project intervention
areas of Assam. As all development activities are planned, funded and implemented at the
Panchayat level, this committee acts as a link between the community federations and the
Panchayat. VOCC also coordinates and negotiates with different departments to help the
community to access different services, The existence of this committee has ensured social and
economic empowerment by making entitlements and rights accessible to the most vulnerable in
the Panchayats.

• Participation in efforts of income generation:

Self-help groups and their confederations are making continuous efforts to increase the income
of poor members of the rural community. Representatives of federations in block and panchayat
level panchayati raj institutions have also been made honorary members recently. Panchayats
can help a lot by coordinating with various departments for this, ensuring their access to public
assets, setting up community work places, conducting various functions of the Panchayat such as
water supply, sanitation etc. and authorizing them to charge fees from the village community for
this purpose, by supporting their projects.

• Working towards the Sustainable Development Goals:

With MoPR emphasizing LSGIs to work towards the localized themes for Sustainable Develop-
ment Goals, the efforts undertaken by CBOs in addressing social development issues through
convergence with line departments and GPs will gain more traction. Social Development Plan
interventions undertaken by the CBOs under VPRP can be aligned with the Sankalps taken by the
Gram Panchayats to ensure combined efforts.

• Working with Citizens’ Committees:

at the level of the Gram Panchayat, ward and the level of the specific institutions like Anganwadis,
schools etc. , e.g Anganwadi Level Monitoring and Support Committees (ALMSCs), Mothers’
Committees, Village Health Sanitation Nutrition Committees (VHSNC), School Management
Committees etc. like Anganwadis, Schools, Sub Centres etc. by increasing the role of SHGs and
their federations in the functioning of these committees leading to increased transparency and
accountability of the service providers to ensure the proper service delivery by these institutions.

8
Comparative physical achievements from 2011-14 to 2014-22
Sl. Idicators Progress from Progress from Cumulative
No. financial year financial year achievement up
2011-12 to 2013-14 2014-15 to April, 2022 to April, 2022
1- Number of women organized
2.35 5.92 8.27
in SHG (in crore)

Number of SHGs Promoted 75.86

2- 19.29 56.57
(in lakhs)

Amount of loan disbursed 80357.32* 489690.00 570047.32

3- (in Rs. crore)

4- Amount of Capital Assistance 1123.76 16629.39 17753.15

Provided (Revolving Fund +
Community Investment Fund)
(In Rs. crore)
5- Non-performing assets 9.58 %
2.12%
(till March 31, 2014)
6- Deployed bank's
- 78,549
correspondent Sakhi/
Digi Point (NRLM+NRETP)

7-
Number of enterprises -
assisted under SVEP 2,05,371

Number of vehicles plying -

8- under Aajeevika Grameen 1,811
Express Scheme (AGEY)

Established Community -
9- Managed Custom 24,234
Hiring Centre

Number of productive 183

10- 34 149
enterprises formed

11- Number of women farmers 167

24 143
covered under MKSP)

9
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Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana- Gramin Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin

(PMAY-G)
1) Ministry of Rural Development is implementing rural housing scheme, Pradhan
Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin (PMAY-G) w.e.f. 1st April, 2016 to provide assistance to
eligible rural households for construction of 2.95 Crore Pucca houses with basic amenities
to achieve the objective of “Housing For All” in rural areas by March, 2024. Under PMAY-G,
a total of 2.46 crore houses have been sanctioned, 1st installment released for 2.38 crore
houses and 2.06 crore houses have already been completed as on 31st October, 2022.

2) Under PMAY-G, the beneficiaries are identified based on the housing deprivation
parameters and exclusion criteria prescribed under Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC)
2011 database subject to due verification by Gram Sabha and completion of Appellate
Process. Additional beneficiaries under PMAY-G are also identified from finalised
Awaas+ lists. The Framework For Implementation of PMAY-G defines following roles and
responsibilities for Gram Panchayats in implementation and monitoring of PMAY-G:-

• The Gram Panchayats, through Gram Sabhas, will select, prioritize and finalise the
Permanent Wait List of eligible beneficiaries prepared on the basis of SECC-2011 &
additional households from Awaas+ lists, as per the targets allotted.

• The Gram Panchayats will facilitate orientation of PMAY-G beneficiaries on different

aspects of the scheme.

• The Gram Panchayats would identify the beneficiary households who are unable to
construct their houses under the scheme on their own and help them in getting their
houses constructed as a part of the rural mason training. In case there are still some
beneficiaries left out, the Gram Panchayats shall help to get their house constructed.

• The Gram Panchayats will assist in identifying common land available for allotment
to the landless beneficiaries.

• The Gram Panchayats may facilitate beneficiaries in accessing materials required

for construction at reasonable rates and help in identification of trained masons.

• The Gram Panchayats may facilitate / encourage / motivate the Self-Help Groups
(SHG) to undertake production of quality building materials for supplying the same
to the beneficiaries of PMAY-G at reasonable rates.

• Gram Panchayats would facilitate the beneficiaries in getting the benefits of other
Central and State Government schemes like toilets, electricity, LPG and tap water
supply connections etc. through convergence. It should be the endeavor of all the
Gram Panchayats that every family benefited from this scheme should be given
enough support to help them rise above the poverty line.

• The Gram Panchayats should discuss the progress of the scheme in their scheduled
meetings and help resolve the problems being faced by the beneficiaries. The Gram
Panchayats should also proactively assist the social audit teams to conduct Social
Audit
10
 • The Gram Panchayat may assist in identifying the local level functionary to be
tagged with each PMAY-G house for ensuring their timely completion.

Assistance for house

in Hilly, difficult areas Assistance for
and IAP districts is house in Plain areas is
Rs. 1,30,000 Rs. 1,20,000

Comparative Physical position from 2006-14 to 2014-22

Financial year Constructed Constructed Total houses
IAY houses PMAY - G house Constructed

Financial year 2006-07 1,81,81,492 ---- 1,81,81,492

to financial year 2013-14

Financial Year 2014-15 74,56,232 1,80,60,414 2, 55,16,646

to financial year 2021-22

3) In order to enable the Panchayats to play their role effectively, the State/ UT
Government undertakes the following: -

• Organise training programme to equip the Panchayats to carry out the tasks
assigned to them.

• Provide the Panchayats IEC material particularly on materials and building

technologies.

• Provide share of administrative expenses commensurate to work handled.

• Issue an order specifying the roles and responsibilities of each tier of Panchayat as
appropriate to the State / UTs. In State / UTs having different tiers in Panchayat
system, the State/UT Government may decide the responsibilities for each tier.

11
Role of Panchayati Raj Institutions in
implementation of PMGSY Pradhan Mantri
Gram Sadak Yojana

Role in Planning
Proper planning is imperative to achieve the objectives of the Programme in a systematic and
cost effective manner. The Guidelines lay down various steps in the planning process and the
role of different agencies including the Intermediate Panchayat and the District Panchayat.

The District panchayat is entitled with the task of selecting the set of socio-economic/
infrastructure variables best suited for the District, categorising them and according relative
weightages to them, which is then used in preparing the District Rural Roads Plan (DRRP).
After preparation of the DRRP, the core network for a block is approved by Intermediate
Panchayat, thereafter by District Panchayat. Once approved by the district panchayat, a copy
of the Core Network is sent to the State-level Agency as well as the National Rural
Infrastructure Development Agency. No road work is proposed under the PMGSY for New
Connectivity or Upgradation (where permitted) unless it forms part of the Core Network.

Role in Proposal formulation

• The District Panchayat has a role in according approval of Comprehensive
New-Connectivity Priority Lists (CNCPL)/Comprehensive Upgradation Priority Lists
(CUCPL). While according their approval, District Panchayats also consider the
suggestions of lower level Panchayati Institutions.

• The Order of Priority and the CNCPL / CUPL is the twin basis for making proposals.
Where road works of a higher order of priority still remain to be taken up, road works of
a lower order of priority is not taken up in the same District except if it is not feasible to
execute the road work for reasons of non-availability of land etc. While finalising the
District proposal, the District Panchayat records and communicates the reason in each
such case that a higher priority road is left out and lower priority road is proposed.

12
 From financial year 2006-07 to 2013-14 From financial year 2014-15 to 2021-22

2,98,351 K.M. 3,24,255 K.M.

Road length has been constructed Road length has been constructed
with the expenditure of with the expenditure of
₹1,08,113.23 ₹1,64,943.31
Financial Constructed Expenditure* Financial Constructed Expenditure*
year road length (Rs. in crores) year road length (Rs. in crores)
(in kms) (in kms)

2006-07 25,192 5843.93 2014-15 38,043 17144.06

2007-08 34,164 10624.00 2015-16 35,150 16542.9
2008-09 50,180 13440.66 2016-17 47,425 16093.05
2009-10 55,259 17587.76 2017-18 48,670 17307.29
2010-11 46,784 17309.31 2018-19 49,007 23369.38
2011-12 31,622 18915.23 2019-20 27,305 22723.92
2012-13 27,793 10006.22 2020-21 36,686 23938.8
2013-14 27,357 14386.12 2021-22 41,969 27823.91
Total 2,98,351 108113.23 Total 324255 164943.31
Expenditure including state share*

Role in selecting the alignment

• It is the responsibility of the State Government / District Panchayat to ensure that lands
are available for taking up the proposed road works. A certificate that land is available
accompanies the proposal for each road work. As part of the process, all states include a
simple, non-formal "transect walk" organized by the Assistant Engineer at the time of
preparation of DPRs. The Panchayat Pradhan, local patwari, the JE, Women PRI members and
representatives of Women Self Help Group (SHGs) participate in the transect walk. Forest
Department officials are also included where forest land is involved.

• At the end of the walk, a Gram Sabha Meeting is held, alignment is finalised after record-
ing the issues that arose during the walk and the action is taken / proposed to resolve the
issues. A copy of these Minutes signed by the Pradhan / Panch, Intermediate/District Pancha-
yat Member, if present, Secretary of the Gram Panchayat, other officials and Gram Sabha
Members present ,along with at least 10 digital photographs of Transect Walk and some digital
photographs of Gram Sabha meeting is attached to the finalised DPRs.

13
Role in Maintenance
Since rural Through Routes/Major Rural Links carry comparatively larger traffic, keeping them
in good condition is particularly important. Through Routes (whether upgraded under 1GSY
or subjected to maintenance contract as an associated Through Route of a PMGSY link route)
on expiry of 5-year post-construction maintenance shall be placed under another post 5 year
maintenance contracts consisting of 5-year maintenance guarantee including periodic renew-
al as or requirement based on condition assessment. The State Government is to make the
necessary budget provision and place the funds to service the maintenance contracts at the
disposal of the SRRDA in the Maintenance Fund Account.

Until District Panchayats take over maintenance functions, the PIUs continue to be responsible
for administration of post-construction maintenance contracts on roads under the PMGSY-III.
However, Panchayats can help in securing roads in populated areas by keeping roadside
drains clean and adequate drainage arrangements for village areas.

Grievance Redressal
“Meri Sadak” App, a user friendly and transparent Citizen Feedback and complaint redressal
system is in place, with the use of which, the citizens can express their concerns related to slow
pace, abandoned work or bad quality of PMGSY works. Meri Sadak App is available in two
languages i.e. Hindi and English. The App has now been revamped to include one regional
languag-Odiya.

Roadside Plantation
It is very important to plant trees on both sides of roads as much as possible for beauty and
safety of the roads. Panchayats can take up plantation etc. under MGNREGA scheme.

14
 Deen Dayal Upadhyaya –
Grameen Kaushalya Yojna (DDU-GKY)

Through Deendayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana, youth from poor families in the
age group of 15-35 years are trained for jobs in enterprises. The Gram Panchayat (GPs) plays a
key role in the successful implementation of these programmes. As DDU-GKY adopts a village
saturation approach for skilling, GPs have an important role in generating awareness about
the programme, facilitating the efforts for mobilizing trainees, creating databases for skill
demand and placement, preparing the youth and their parents to take up enterprising carrier
and keeping their moral high, assist in conducting the job melas and support the programme
Implementing Agencies in all stages of implementation.

GPs will need to ensure that the most vulnerable sections, including women, participate in the
programme. It is one of the primary responsibilities of panchayats to nominate all the youth
interested in training in ‘Kaushal Panji’. They will have to conduct special counselling sessions
with the potential candidates as well as parents of the potential candidates and make them
aware of the possibilities of the programme. When the Project Implementing Agencies
conduct skill training, the GPs can keep track of the implementation by direct interaction with
the candidates undergoing training. The GPs can track the placement provided to the
candidates after training, interact with candidates and their parents to monitor various
aspects in the jobs and act as part of the redressal mechanism.

Physical achievements under

DDU-GKY since 2014-15

Year Total number of Total number of

candidates trained candidates settled

2014-15 43,038 21,446

2015-16 2,36,471 1,09,512
2016-17 1,62,586 1,47,883
2017-18 1,31,527 75,787
2018-19 2,41,509 1,37,251
2019-20 2,47,177 1,50,214
2020-21 38,289 49,563
2021-22 97,006 45,612
(till March 22)

Total 11,97,603 7,37,268

15
Role of Gram Panchayats in
Successful Functioning of RSETIS

RSETIs established by the Lead Banks in the respective districts are functioning under the aegis
of Ministry of Rural Development in 572 districts across the country, with the objective of
creation of self employment for the unemployed rural youth. With this objective, RSETIs are
imparting Skill Upgradation and Entrepreneurship Development training to the rural
unemployed youth of age group between 18 to 45 years under various job roles out of 64
training modules, approved by MoRD. The bank loan is provided to the candidates according to
their interest and mapping with the potential available for successful settlement of candidates
after training.

Nowadays, the RSETIs conduct Entrepreneur Awareness Programs commonly called as EAPs to
mobilise candidates for the training programs. Since the target group are rural unemployed
youth, the local Gram Panchayaths play a vital role in successful conduct of EAPs and
mobilisation of candidates for various training programs. They are also a powerful means of
reaching out to the youth through nominations in 'Kaushal Panji’ and other means. Since, the
president and members of Gram Panchayaths are aware of the services extended by the RSETIs
free of cost under the funding support from MoRD to create self employment among the
unemployed youth in their areas, they are extending full support for successful conduct of EAPs
in their villages.

Some of the Gram Panchayaths are providing their buildings free of cost to the RSETIs to
conduct off-campus programs with the required infrastructure to reach more number of
unemployed youth of their village and nearby villages. However, permission for conducting
off-campus programs is being given selectively where proper infrastructure is available to
ensure quality of the training programs.

Even after successful completion of the training the Gram Panchayaths are helping the trained
candidates in credit linkage by accommodating them in any government scheme
implemented through Gram Panchayaths or Block Offices, according to the eligibility of the
trained candidates. Gram Panchayaths are also helping the trained candidates by arranging the
required papers to avail loans from the banks in the area. They can also help in setting up the
enterprise by monitoring the enterprises of these youth.

In the above backdrop, we can infer that the role of the Gram Panchayaths is vital in successful
conduct of the training programs from initial stage of mobilisation of candidates up to
settlement of the trained candidates.
Comparative Physical achievements
from 2008-14 to 2014-22
Year Trained Settled
2008-2014 1015996 605225
2014-2022 3054029 2287273

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Physical Achievements under RSETI since 2014-15

Financial Year Trained Settled

2014-15 392206 252501
2015-16 436385 300524
2016-17 445143 364536
2017-18 423343 350097
2018-19 403672 296307
2019-20 384025 281645
2020-21 255141 185234
2021-22 (As of March 22) 314114 256429
Total 3054029 2287273

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National Social Assistance
Programme (NSAP)
Under National Social Assistance Program (NSAP) scheme the old aged, widows, and disabled persons
belonging to Below Poverty Line (BPL) and fulfilling eligibility criteria prescribed in the NSAP
guidelines, are provided financial assistance ranging from `200/- to `500/- p.m. and in the case of
death of the breadwinner, a lump sum assistance of `20,000/- is given to the bereaved family. It is a
100% centrally funded Centrally Sponsored Scheme meant for the most vulnerable persons of our
society living below poverty line, both in rural and urban areas. Presently, NSAP caters to 3.09 crore
BPL beneficiaries with a scheme-wise ceiling for each State/UT on the number of beneficiaries.
States/UTs are also adding top-ups ranging from `50 to `3,300 per month per beneficiary under the
NSAP schemes.

Role of Gram Panchayats (GPs) in implementation of NSAP

• Gram Panchayats (GPs) have been given an active role in implementation of the NSAP
schemes including awareness generation, identification & selection of beneficiaries and
monitoring & evaluation.

• GP plays a vital role in creating awareness among people about eligibility, scale of
assistance and procedure to be followed for obtaining benefits. In this task, voluntary
organizations, SHGs, Aasha workers, Aaganwadi workers, etc. are involved actively.

• GP plays central role in identification of beneficiaries. The identification could be based

on (i) application by the candidate or (ii) own volition of GP. Based on the available BPL list,
the beneficiaries are proactively identified by reaching out to their households by the
elected heads/ representatives of GPs.

• The list of applicants with the recommendations of the verifying authority is discussed
in the Gram Sabha and the recommendation of GP is compulsory before approval of
applications for benefits under the scheme.

• In case of rejection of application for the benefits, the ground for rejection is recorded
and intimated to the beneficiary as well as the GP.

• The list of beneficiaries to whom sanctions are issued should be displayed at the Gram
Panchayat.

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 • GP reports every case of death of pensioner to the designated Sanctioning Authority.
It also plays important role for corrective action in the cases of mistaken/ false identity.

• The head of the GP plays a supervisory role in such cases where benefits are disbursed
in cash in Gram Sabha meetings.

• GPs also have been given role in monitoring and evaluating the programme at district
level by including a few heads of GPs in District Level Committees.

• GPs play important role in conduct of Social Audit (SA) of the scheme. The NSAP
Guidelines mandates the GPs to include the matter of conduct of SAs one of the agenda
items at least two Gram Sabha meetings during the year. For each SA, the Gram Sabha
elects for itself a Social Audit Committee (SAC) comprising at least two beneficiaries from
each of the schemes under NSAP in addition to its regular members. It ensures that all
relevant information is made available to the Social Audit Committee.

Comparative Physical Status form 2006-14 to 2014-22

Number of Number of
Sl. No. Financial Year Beneficiaries Financial Year Beneficiaries

1 2006-07 10043728 2014-15 27383149

2 2007-08 12924404 2015-16 27251892

3 2008-09 16455172 2016-17 29014426

4 2009-10 21606106 2017-18 28995034

5 2010-11 22529754 2018-19 28958731

6 2011-12 26943648 2019-20 29307301

7 2012-13 26672764 2020-21 29642865

8 2013-14 28562854 2021-22 29867336

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Other Schemes

Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana

Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) is a scheme that envisages transformation of villages including
vision of future and paradigm shift. SAGY was launched in the year 2014 with the aim to develop
Model Gram Panchayats under the guidance and leadership of Hon'ble Member of Parliaments. The
projects under the scheme are implemented without allocation of additional funds through
effective convergence with the existing development schemes of the Government.

Under SAGY, Village Development Plans (VDPs) are prepared through community participation,
which serve as the blueprint for development of gram panchayats identified as model gram
panchayats.

So far, 2766 Gram Panchayats have been adopted. Every gram

panchayat can urge the Member of Parliament to adopt his village. At
the same time, by adopting the principles of the booklet issued in this
regard, it can try to make its own village an ideal village.

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 Ministry of Rural Development
Government of India

@MoRD_GoI @IndiaRuralDev @indiaruraldev /c/MoRD_GoI @MoRD_GoI

Other Schemes: