PANCHAYAT DEVELOPMENT INDEX PORTAL (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 - Governance)

Context: Ministry of Panchayati Raj is organizing Two-Days National Writeshop on Panchayat Development Index Portal for Preparation of Baseline Report and Computation of Panchayat Development Index from 10th August to 11th August 2023 at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi. 

• The Two-Days National Writeshop aims at emphasizing the prominence of the Baseline Report for setting the local actions on measurable dimensions to achieve the local targets towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals in rural areas.

Panchayat Development Index (PDI)

• It is a new initiative by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj to assess the progress of local development through panchayats, the rural self-government institutions in India.
• The PDI is based on the concept of Localization of Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs), which aims to align the national and global development goals with the local context and priorities.
• It is designed to be a compact and comprehensive statistical tool that captures various aspects of development at the panchayat level.
• It covers nine themes that reflect the vision of an ideal village:
• Poverty-free
• Healthy
• Child-friendly
• Water-sufficient
• Clean and green
• Self-sufficient
• Socially just and secure
• Well-governed
• Women-friendly
• The PDI takes into account the inputs, outputs, and outcomes of development interventions in each theme.