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New Delhi, Jul 27 (PTI) Union Panchayati Raj Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh on Monday launched the Atmanirbhar Panchayat Programme, the SAMARTH Panchayat Portal and released the Model Own Source Revenue (OSR) Rules aimed at strengthening the financial autonomy of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and enhancing grassroots governance.
Launching the initiatives at a function in Krishi Bhawan here, Singh said financially empowered and technologically enabled panchayats were central to the vision of a developed India by 2047.
“Self-reliant Panchayats are key to realising the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047,” the minister said, adding that strengthening local bodies with digital tools and sustainable revenue streams would improve governance and accelerate
inclusive rural development.
According to the ministry, the Atmanirbhar Panchayat Programme will help gram and block panchayats identify local assets and opportunities and develop them into revenue-generating projects with technical support from the Centre. The projects will be financed through public-private partnerships, corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds, convergence with government schemes and bank financing, with NABARD and HUDCO serving as institutional partners.
The ministry plans to develop 350 such projects over four years, including 50 in the first year and 100 annually over the following three years.
The minister also launched the SAMARTH Panchayat Portal, a digital platform designed to enable gram panchayats to manage the entire lifecycle of their own source revenues, including taxpayer registration, demand generation, online payments, collections and real-time monitoring.
The ministry said Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh have already been onboarded on the portal, with more than 51 lakh taxpayers registered, demand notices worth Rs 95 crore generated and over Rs 27 crore collected so far. Maharashtra, Mizoram, Assam, Haryana, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh are in the process of being onboarded.
Singh said the initiatives are in line with the recommendations of the Sixteenth Finance Commission to strengthen the own source revenues of local bodies and urged elected representatives and officials to use the new tools to improve transparency, participatory democracy and citizen-centric governance.
The ministry also released the Model OSR Rules, an advisory framework for states and Union Territories to strengthen the assessment, collection and management of panchayat revenues such as property tax, user charges, fees and other non-tax revenues.
The model rules are intended to help states establish transparent and efficient systems for revenue mobilisation while retaining the flexibility to adapt them to local legal and administrative requirements.
On the occasion, the minister was presented with the Gold Award conferred on the Ministry of Panchayati Raj under the National Awards for e-Governance 2026 for the Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI).
The ministry said four Panchayati Raj-related initiatives received National Awards for e-Governance this year, including three Gold and one Silver, recognising their contribution to data-driven grassroots governance. PTI AO APL APL
