New Delhi, Delhi, 22nd of October, 2024 : The Ministry of Panchayati Raj organized the first regional workshop under the Panchayat Sammelan series on “Ease of Living: Enhancing Service Delivery at the Grassroots” today at the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRD&PR), Hyderabad. Shri Vivek Bharadwaj, Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj participated as chief guest and inaugurated this workshop. Addressing the event, he emphasized that government is committed to transform every panchayat into a hub of efficient, transparent, and responsive services. Noting that Sammelan represents a key milestone in this ongoing process , Shri Bharadwaj stressed that effective service delivery with “seva bhaav” (spirit of service) is key to strengthening rural self-reliance and voluntary tax compliance.
He also highlighted the direct correlation between quality service delivery and citizens willingness to pay taxes, enabling Panchayats to achieve self-reliance through self-generated revenue. He added, that successful service delivery models should be documented and shared to inspire other Panchayats. States with exemplary service delivery frameworks should collaborate with others for model replication. Shri Vivek Bharadwaj also said that the Ministry of Panchayati Raj has approved the provision of 22,164 computers to Gram Panchayats across various states where computers were previously unavailable. This step will significantly enhance access to online services in rural areas. Shri Bharadwaj also mentioned that ministry has also sanctioned the construction of 3,301 Gram Panchayat Bhawans, which will include co-located Common Service Centres (CSCs), further strengthening digital infrastructure at the grassroots level.
Addressing the participants, Dr. G. Narendra Kumar, Director General, NIRD&PR, emphasized that Panchayat representatives and functionaries are tasked with driving positive change at the grassroots level. “By equipping the Panchayat representatives and officials with cutting-edge tools and knowledge, we are setting the stage for a governance revolution that begins from the ground up,” he added.
Earlier in his opening remarks, Shri Alok Prem Nagar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, highlighted various digital interventions including ServicePlus of NIC and RapidPro of UNICEF. He further emphasized that the workshop’s innovative use of technology and focus on collaborative learning has set a new benchmark for future Regional Workshops in the series of Panchayat Sammelan. Informing that that the Hyderabad Panchayat Sammelan is being live streamed in eleven languages through the Bhashini platform, including Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu, he said that this linguistic outreach demonstrates the Ministry’s commitment to inclusive governance and effective knowledge dissemination across diverse linguistic communities.
Shri Lokesh Kumar D. S., Secretary, Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Department, Government of Telangana thanked the Ministry of Panchayati Raj for organising this workshop in Hyderabad. This workshop, was organised as a the first in a series of four regional workshops under Panchayat Sammelan. The primary objective of this programme focused to deliberate on innovative approaches and share experiences for enhancing service delivery at the grassroots level. Representatives from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, and Odisha participated in this workshop and shared their insights on challenges and opportunities in service delivery.
The sessions explored the theme of ease of living through leveraging technology for rural service delivery. The National Informatics Centre (NIC) demonstrated the bespoke Service Plus platform, configurable for online service delivery. Presentations from the Wadhwani Foundation, Bhashini, and UNICEF showcased the potential of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Public Goods (DPGs) in streamlining communication and service delivery at the local level. NIRD&PR also conducted a session on Benchmarking Rural Service Delivery, providing valuable frameworks for evaluating and enhancing service effectiveness. Panchayat Sammelan provided the participants with enhanced knowledge and actionable strategies to enhance the governance and service delivery mechanism at the Panchayat level.
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