Ministry of Panchayati Raj Launches Comprehensive Panchayat Strengthening Initiatives
Union Minister of Panchayati Raj and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh, launched three significant initiatives to strengthen Panchayati Raj Institutions at a function held at Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi on July 27, 2026. The initiatives include the Atmanirbhar Panchayat Programme, SAMARTH Panchayat Portal, and Model OSR (Own Source of Revenue) Rules, all aimed at building financially empowered and technologically enabled Panchayats in line with the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047.
Atmanirbhar Panchayat Programme
The Atmanirbhar Panchayat Programme is designed to enable Gram Panchayats and Block Panchayats to identify local assets and opportunities and develop them into bankable, revenue-generating projects that build sustainable Own Source of Revenue. The programme will develop 350 projects over four years, with 50 projects in the first year and 100 projects in each of the following three years. Financing is facilitated through Public Private Partnerships, Corporate Social Responsibility contributions, convergence with other schemes, and bank finance, with NABARD and HUDCO as institutional partners. Eligibility criteria require Gram Panchayats to have a minimum OSR of ₹50 lakh and Block Panchayats to have a minimum OSR of ₹1 crore, each with at least three years of tenure remaining, with relaxed thresholds for special category States. Outreach workshops have already been conducted for Panchayat representatives across ten states.
SAMARTH Panchayat Portal
The SAMARTH Panchayat Portal is a unified, configurable national platform designed to strengthen the financial capacity of Gram Panchayats through technology-enabled management of OSR. The portal enables complete digital management of the OSR lifecycle, including taxpayer registration, demand generation, online payments, collection, and real-time monitoring. Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh have already been onboarded on the portal, with more than 51 lakh taxpayers registered, demand notices worth ₹95 crore generated, and over ₹27 crore collected to date. Onboarding is currently underway in Maharashtra, Mizoram, Assam, Haryana, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh.
Model OSR Rules
The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has prepared Model OSR Rules as a guiding framework for States and Union Territories to create a transparent, uniform, and efficient system for the assessment, collection, and management of Panchayat revenues. These rules cover property tax, user charges, fees, and other non-tax revenues. The Model Rules are advisory in nature and may be adopted or adapted by States according to their local requirements and existing legal framework, building on the recommendations of the Sixteenth Finance Commission.
Recognition and Awards
The Ministry was presented with the Gold Award and Certificate under the National Awards for e-Governance (NAeG) 2026 for the Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI) – Data Driven Governance for Viksit Bharat. This recognition was received at the 29th National Conference on e-Governance held in Jaipur from July 1-2, 2026, where four Panchayati Raj related initiatives received three Gold and one Silver awards.
Union Minister Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh emphasized that these initiatives are aligned with the Sixteenth Finance Commission's recommendations on strengthening Own Source Revenue and urged elected representatives and functionaries of PRIs and RLBs to utilize these tools to enhance transparency, strengthen participatory democracy, and promote citizen-centric governance at the grassroots level.