Panchayat Advancement Index Framework
The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has developed the Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI), previously known as Panchayat Development Index, as a composite assessment framework to measure the incremental performance of Gram Panchayats across themes of localization of sustainable development goals. The PAI provides theme-wise and overall scores through scorecards and dashboards, enabling identification of performance gaps, relative strengths, and areas requiring focused attention at the Panchayat level.
Coverage and Implementation
A total of 2.59 lakh Gram Panchayats/Equivalent to GPs from 33 States/UTs have been onboarded in the PAI 2.0 exercise for FY 2023-24. The state-wise distribution shows Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of GPs at 57,678, followed by Maharashtra with 27,894 and Madhya Pradesh with 23,011. The grading distribution across all states shows 3,635 GPs achieved A grade, 118,824 achieved B grade, 123,719 achieved C grade, and 13,689 achieved D grade, with no GPs achieving A+ grade.
Capacity Building and Training
The Ministry has been implementing the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) since financial year 2022-23 with the major objective of Capacity Building & Training of Elected Representatives, Functionaries and other stakeholders of Panchayats. A total of 36,81,750 elected representatives & other stakeholders of Panchayati Raj Institutions were trained on themes of localization of sustainable development goals from FY 2022-23 to FY 2026-27 (as on 10th July 2026).
The state-wise training data shows significant variation in participation, with Andhra Pradesh training 406,617 participants in 2022-23 and 307,591 in 2025-26, while Jammu & Kashmir trained 189,327 in 2022-23 and 171,419 in 2023-24. The total participants trained across all years amounts to 3,682,750.
Gram Panchayat Development Planning
The Ministry facilitates the preparation of Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs) through a thematic planning approach aligned with the nine themes of LSDGs. Gram Panchayats are advised to identify and prioritize key developmental sectors, referred to as "Sankalp", before preparing their GPDPs. For the Plan Year of FY 2026-27 (as on 29.07.2026), a total of 1,56,019 Gram Panchayats have taken Sankalp for GPDP preparation.
Of these, 31,789 Gram Panchayats have selected Theme 4: Water Sufficient Panchayat and 32,806 Gram Panchayats have selected Theme 5: Clean and Green Panchayat as their respective focus areas. Climate-resilient agricultural practices including efficient water management through drip irrigation & sprinkler systems, watershed development, agroforestry, and other sustainable agricultural practices are integrated under these themes.
Budget and Collaborations
The Ministry clarified that no special incentive fund has been created in the 2026-27 Budget for "Frontrunner" Panchayats in any themes of localization of sustainable development goals. Additionally, no collaboration has been established with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under PAI.
The framework of nine Localization of Sustainable Development Goals themes makes the global development agenda more relevant and actionable at the grassroots level, facilitating effective rural governance, improved service delivery, and outcome-oriented Panchayat development.