New Delhi: The National Panchayat Awards 2025 were conferred upon 42 outstanding Panchayats from across the country yesterday at a ceremony held in the national capital.
Union Minister of Panchayati Raj, Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh, presented the honors in the presence of Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj, Prof. S. P. Singh Baghel, Secretary, Shri Vivek Bhardwaj, Additional Secretary, Shri Sushil Kumar Lohani and other senior central and state officials.
The awards recognize exemplary contributions toward fostering inclusive, participatory, and sustainable rural development in line with the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.
Odisha emerged as a major winner at the national event, securing a total of five prestigious awards. Reflecting the state’s robust implementation of grassroots governance and sustainable development goals, Ganjam district clinched the coveted Nanaji Deshmukh Sarvottam Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar, securing the second position nationwide among the Best District Panchayats. Along with the title, Ganjam district received an incentive grant of 3 crore rupees.
Additionally, individual Gram Panchayats from Odisha were honored under the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar framework across specific localization themes. Mandar Gram Panchayat under Polasara Block in Ganjam district secured the second position nationally as a Socially Just and Socially Secured Panchayat, earning a cash prize of 37.5 lakh rupees. In the Healthy Panchayat category, Potlampur Gram Panchayat of Chatrapur Block in Ganjam finished third, securing an incentive of 25 lakh rupees.
Other state awardees included Padua Gram Panchayat under Champua Block in Kendujhar district, which finished third in the Water-Sufficient category, and Hathibandha Gram Panchayat under Lathikata Block in Sundargarh district, which tied for second place in the Clean and Green category.
Nationally, the awards were presented across two primary categories following a comprehensively revamped evaluation process aligned with the nine themes of Localisation of Sustainable Development Goals. The Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar was awarded to 34 Gram Panchayats from 17 States and Union Territories based on their performance scores in the Panchayat Advancement Index 2.0. Meanwhile, the Nanaji Deshmukh Sarvottam Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar recognized 8 top overall performing entities, comprising 3 District Panchayats, 2 Block Panchayats, and 3 Gram Panchayats. Out of the 42 total winners, 22 are led by women, highlighting a transformative shift in rural leadership.
During the event, dignitaries released an E-Book showcasing the works and best practices of the awardees alongside a compendium of best practices from states and union territories designed to enable peer learning and replicability. Winning institutions received financial grants ranging from 50 lakh rupees to 5 crore rupees under the Incentivization of Panchayats scheme of the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, earmarked to support further local development works.
The entire program was coordinated under the management of Shri Sushil Kumar Lohani, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, which scripted success.