New Delhi: The Union Government has intensified its efforts to empower local self government in Odisha by releasing over 112 crore rupees under the Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan since 2022. Union Minister Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh detailed the progress in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha today noting that the initiative specifically targets the capacity building of the 6794 Gram Panchayats currently functioning across the state.
The financial support provided to Odisha has seen a significant upward trend over the last four years. While 11.40 crore rupees were released in the 2022-23 fiscal year the allocation for the current 2025-26 period has reached 53.50 crore rupees as of early February. This funding supports a wide range of training programs for elected representatives and panchayat functionaries including leadership development programs conducted in collaboration with institutes like the Indian Institutes of Management and Indian Institutes of Technology.
Beyond the capacity building schemes the central government has also facilitated substantial financial grants via the Fifteenth Finance Commission. For the 2021-26 period a total of 8800 crore rupees has been recommended for rural local bodies in Odisha to ensure they have the resources needed for economic development and social justice.
Odisha has made notable strides in the digital transformation of its local governance. Every one of the 6794 Gram Panchayats in the state has successfully uploaded development plans to the e Gram Swaraj platform and integrated with the Public Financial Management System. This digital shift allows for real time payments to vendors and ensures higher transparency in how public funds are spent at the village level.
Training efforts in the state have reached a massive scale with more than 7.5 lakh participants receiving instruction under the scheme since 2022. These sessions cover essential topics such as generating own source revenue and specialized modules designed to empower women elected representatives to take on more effective leadership roles in their communities.
To further ensure accountability the Ministry of Panchayati Raj has implemented several specialized digital tools. These include the Audit Online application for transparent auditing of grants and the Meri Panchayat app which gives citizens direct access to information regarding local projects and progress. The integration of weather forecasting and multilingual support through BHASHINI has also been introduced to help panchayats make more informed decisions regarding agriculture and disaster preparedness.