Gram Panchayats Lead Digital Transformation at 28th National Conference on e-Governance

A special plenary session on “Gram Panchayat & Grassroots Level Innovations in e-Governance” was held today on the concluding day of the 28th National Conference on e-Governance (NCeG) 2025 at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The session was chaired by Shri Vivek Bharadwaj, Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, who emphasized that with 2.55 lakh Gram Panchayats and more than 32 lakh elected representatives and functionaries, Panchayati Raj Institutions are the first point of contact for citizens and the fulcrum of service delivery in rural areas. He underlined that India’s digital governance journey must be anchored in its villages, where Gram Panchayats are emerging as drivers of transformation through technology-enabled transparency, real-time service delivery and citizen-centric planning. While Shri Alok Prem Nagar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, shared perspectives on the Ministry’s reforms and technology-driven initiatives designed to improve service delivery at the village level and to strengthen participatory governance.

Panelists included Shri Surendra Kumar Meena, Director, SIRD&PR, Odisha; Ms. Shivani Goyal, District Development Officer, Surat, Gujarat; Shri Vishal Tejrao Narwade, Chief Executive Officer, Zilla Parishad, Dhule / Sangli, Maharashtra; and Ms. Monica Yadav, Chairperson, Zila Panchayat, Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh. They presented field-level experiences and best practices in citizen service delivery, participatory planning and convergence of schemes, demonstrating how grassroots innovations are improving lives and can be adapted across States. The panel session concluded with a strong reaffirmation of the pivotal role of Gram Panchayats as engines of rural digital transformation and as vital institutions for ensuring ease of living and quality of life at the grassroots.

The Conference also felicitated the winners of the National Awards for e-Governance (NAeG) 2025, which witnessed record participation with over 1.45 lakh nominations. For the first time, a special category was introduced on “Grassroots Level Initiatives for Deepening Service Delivery at Gram Panchayats or Equivalent Traditional Local Bodies.”

https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2169700