- More than 2.42 lakh special Gram Sabhas were held across India on Gandhi Jayanti.
- The sessions launched the People's Plan Campaign 2026-27, “Sabki Yojana, Sabka Vikas”.
- Panchayats will prepare Development Plans for the financial year 2027-28.
- Central finance grants to rural local bodies rise to ₹4,35,236 crore for 2026-31.
- Jal Jeevan tap connections now reach over 80 per cent of rural households.
More than 2.42 lakh special Gram Sabhas were held across India on Gandhi Jayanti. Villagers, elected representatives, Panchayat staff and officials took part with keen interest.
A new planning cycle begins
The meetings were scheduled on the GPDP Portal and the Panchayat NIRNAY Portal. They also opened the People’s Plan Campaign 2026-27, “Sabki Yojana, Sabka Vikas”.
Under the campaign, Panchayats will draw up their Development Plans for 2027-28. Central schemes from eight departments were placed on the agenda, including Panchayati Raj, Rural Development, Drinking Water and Sanitation, and Land Resources.
What the villages discussed
Topics ranged from higher central finance grants and Own Source Revenue to property rights, jobs, drinking water, water security and food security. Women’s economic empowerment and consumer protection also came up.
Officials read out material on reforms and citizen-focused measures from the last twelve years. Residents shared experiences and suggestions, which will feed into the local plans.
Dr. Vineet Joshi, Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, stayed in touch with State and Union Territory officials through the day. The Ministry said 21 Ministries and Departments backed the exercise, along with MY Bharat volunteers.
Key figures presented
- Sixteenth Finance Commission: ₹4,35,236 crore for rural local bodies in 2026-31, nearly 84 per cent more than the Fifteenth.
- Annual per capita grant rises from about ₹400 to nearly ₹950.
- SAMARTH Panchayat Portal: over 57 lakh taxpayers and 15 lakh properties registered.
- Atma Nirbhar Panchayat Special Award: incentives of up to ₹1 crore.
- SVAMITVA: 3.33 crore property cards generated for 2.06 lakh villages; loans of about ₹1,713 crore sanctioned.
- Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), in force since 1 July 2026: 125 days of guaranteed wage work each financial year.
- 31.69 crore person days generated; interim allocation of ₹93,841 crore for 2026-27.
- Jal Jeevan Mission: rural tap connections up from about 3.23 crore households (17 per cent) to over 16 crore (over 80 per cent).
- Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen): 12.22 crore household toilets built; over 5.25 lakh villages (89.6 per cent) declared ODF Plus (Model).
- Catch the Rain: over 1.55 crore recharge and storage structures built with community help; estimated recharge of 2.43 billion cubic metres.
- Watershed funding raised to ₹22,000 per hectare in plains and ₹28,000 in hilly areas.
- One Nation One Ration Card: about 3.27 crore portability transactions every month.
- PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana: free foodgrains for up to 81.35 crore beneficiaries, extended to 2028.
- National Consumer Helpline, available in 17 languages: 3,42,371 calls in August 2026, against 78,477 in August 2019.
- Refunds of over ₹105 crore facilitated since April 2025.
- e-Jagriti: over 2.55 lakh of 2.81 lakh cases disposed of; Silver Award at the National Awards for e-Governance 2026.
- Land records: 99.90 per cent of Records of Rights and 97.4 per cent of cadastral maps digitised.
Other campaigns and next steps
Several Ministries ran awareness sessions in villages. Topics included the new criminal laws, cooperative digitisation, Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat and Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan.
The Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026 were also discussed, as Swachhata Hi Seva 2026 comes to an end.
The Ministry of Panchayati Raj said it looks forward to people-centred Panchayat Development Plans for 2027-28. It said these plans are meant to build self-reliant and developed Panchayats as part of Viksit Bharat.
