Panchayati Raj ministry launches 'Nirbhay Raho' at national conference of women representatives

New Delhi, Mar 11 (PTI) The Ministry of Panchayati Raj on Wednesday organised a national conference of elected women representatives of rural bodies to mark one year of the ‘Sashakt Panchayat - Netri Abhiyan’, and also announced a new initiative aimed at strengthening women's safety in rural areas, officials said.
    Union Panchayati Raj Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh and Minister of State for Panchayati Raj S P Singh Baghel attended the event, which brought together more than 700 participants, predominantly women, from across the country.
    At the conference, the ministry launched the ‘Nirbhay Raho’ initiative under the Nirbhaya Fund to enhance women's safety and empowerment in panchayats.
    The initiative focuses on capacity building of 14.5 lakh elected women representatives on legal rights and leadership, sensitising around 17.5 lakh male representatives on gender equality and installing CCTV cameras at strategic rural locations to strengthen the safety infrastructure, the ministry said in a statement.
    Addressing the conference, Rajiv Ranjan said the ‘Sashakt Panchayat - Netri Abhiyan’ reflects a national resolve to place women at the centre of grassroots democracy, noting that more than 14.5 lakh elected women representatives are playing a key role in governance at the local level.
    He said women account for around 46 per cent of the total elected representatives in the Panchayati Raj institutions, and urged them to further strengthen leadership, financial management and governance capabilities through training programmes supported by the Centre and the states.
    The minister also referred to the use of the AI-enabled SabhaSaar platform to support panchayat functioning, and said financial support to local bodies has increased significantly over the years.
    “The 16th Finance Commission has recommended Rs 4,35,236 crore for rural local bodies for 2026-31, compared to Rs 65,160 crore recommended by the 13th Finance Commission," the minister said.
    Baghel said training programmes under the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan are helping elected representatives, particularly women, develop skills for effective leadership and responsive local governance.
    Panchayati Raj Secretary Vivek Bharadwaj said initiatives such as the ‘Sashakt Panchayat - Netri Abhiyan’ and ‘Model Women - Friendly Gram Panchayats’ are strengthening women's leadership at the grassroots.
    He said more than 7.18 lakh elected women representatives were trained during 2025-26, while 744 model women-friendly gram panchayats have been identified across 32 states and Union territories.
    During the conference, outstanding women panchayat leaders from 24 states and UTs were felicitated for their contributions to rural governance.
    Andrea M Wojnar, country representative of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) in India, who attended the conference, said the Panchayati Raj system has significantly expanded women's political participation, with more than 1.4 million elected women representatives contributing to grassroots governance.

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