77,000+ Panchayats Recognized for Excellence in Governance; Gujarat and Telangana Top Panchayat Advancement Index
77,000+ Panchayats Recognized for Excellence in Governance; Gujarat and Telangana Top Panchayat Advancement Index
The first-ever Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI) baseline report for FY 2022–2023 has been released by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, marking a major step in strengthening grassroots governance and monitoring rural progress. According to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, the index is a comprehensive instrument for evaluating the performance of more than 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats across nine localized Sustainable Development Goal (LSDG) themes.
According to the first PAI data, 2,16,285 GPs out of 2,55,699 provided validated data. Only 699 Panchayats (0.3%) were designated as Front Runners out of these, whereas 77,298 (35.8%) were designated as Performers. 5,896 Panchayats (2.7%) were categorized as Beginners, while the vast majority—1,32,392 Panchayats (61.2%)—were categorized as Aspirants. The highest “Achiever” category was not attained by any Panchayat.
Gujarat and Telangana emerged as leaders with the highest number of Front Runner GPs—346 and 270 respectively. Other high-performing states include Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, while Bihar, Chhattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh saw a significant concentration of Aspirant GPs.
The PAI assesses Panchayats across nine key themes including poverty reduction, health, child-friendliness, water sufficiency, infrastructure, governance, and women-friendly policies. It is built on 435 indicators aligned with the National Indicator Framework of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
The Ministry further said that PAI will serve as a powerful mechanism for evidence-based planning, localized policy interventions, and targeted development, allowing Panchayats to identify gaps, track progress, and prepare strategic development plans. Over time, it is expected to foster healthy competition among Panchayats while informing policy decisions at both state and national levels.
Data was collected via the multilingual PAI Portal , and over 2.16 lakh entries were rigorously validated by States/UTs. Data from five States/UTs—Meghalaya, Nagaland, Goa, Puducherry, and West Bengal—was excluded due to pending validation.
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