Working for nation's development also mark of patriotism Panchayati Raj secretary

    New Delhi, May 26 (PTI) Guarding the borders is not the only act of patriotism and all those working for the nation's development are setting an example of devotion to the nation, said the secretary of the Panchayati Raj Ministry, Raj Vivek Bharadwaj, on Monday.
    He made the remarks while inaugurating a two-day workshop on the Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI), which would measure growth at the village level.
    The index aims at capacity building for data-based monitoring and planning at the village panchayat level to support holistic, inclusive, and sustainable development through Panchayati Raj Institutions.
    At the inauguration event, Bharadwaj said the index analyses over 100 indicators and gives a very comprehensive picture of overall development.
    "I am sure that such a big effort has never been made before. With 2.5 lakh panchayats being measured, there must be millions of data points," Bharadwaj said.
    "Sometimes, we don't understand the value of our own contribution. Operation Sindoor has just concluded and our armies fought bravely. But there's isn't the only benchmark of patriotism."
    The Panchayati Raj Ministry Secretary said, "Standing at the border to guard the nation is not the only act of patriotism. All of us who are working for the development of the nation are contributing to it. We all are setting an example of our patriotism."
    "When you fill the correct data in PAI, when you ensure what is on the ground is reflected on the portal, you are contributing to the development of the country," he said to officials and panchayat members attending the workshop.
    He also emphasised the transformational potential of the PAI in enabling panchayats to systematically assess and improve their performance across key areas of governance and service delivery.
    He also called upon all village panchayats to display their PAI scorecards prominently at village panchayat office buildings to promote public participation and local accountability.
    A portal for the second phase of PAI was also launched. A Local Indicator Framework (LIF) Booklet for FY 2023-24 along with the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) were also released.
    Saurabh Garg, the Secretary of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), said the PAI will help in getting data from the grassroots level. "It provides a very good basis for a bottom-up approach."
    He stressed the index is the first of its kind, and will become a benchmark for other indicators to be developed.
    NITI Aayog Senior Advisor Rajib Kumar Sen said the index will help in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). "It will provide the guidance required for a Viksit Bharat," he said.
    According to the Panchayati Raj Ministry, the PAI has been developed as a robust, multi-dimensional tool to assess and monitor the progress of village panchayats against nine themes aligned with the Localised Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs).
    These themes cover areas such as poverty alleviation, health, education, water sufficiency, clean environment, infrastructure, governance, social justice, and women empowerment.
    In the first phase, PAI 1.0 (2022 23) served as a baseline assessment tool. Improving upon that, PAI 2.0 incorporates major enhancements based on extensive field experience and stakeholder feedback.
    It introduces a sharper and more focused framework by rationalising the number of indicators from 516 to 147.
    The refined Local Indicator Framework now emphasizes outcome-oriented, measurable indicators across nine LSDG themes, enabling village panchayats to track progress better, prioritise interventions, and enhance transparency in local governance.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)