Page 38 - NIS English 16-30 April, 2026

NATION | Panchayati Raj Day-6 Years of SVAMITVA

The beginning of Panchayati Raj... April 24th is Panchayati Raj Day

n The roots of the Indian Panchayati Raj system lie deep n In 1978, the Ashok Mehta Committee submitted a
within the country's history and culture. The Rigveda— report recommending that the Panchayati Raj system be
one of India's oldest sacred texts and historical sources— accorded constitutional status.
contains references to village communities that have been n On December 22 and 23, 1992, the Central Government
self-governing for thousands of years. introduced two bills—about Panchayats and
n A historic breakthrough in the establishment Municipalities—in both Houses of Parliament. Following
of Panchayati Raj was achieved in 1957, when presidential assent, the legislation came into force on
the committee chaired by Balwant Rai Mehta April 24, 1993, as the Constitution (73rd Amendment)
recommended in its report that public participation Act, 1992.
in community development activities should be n The Constitution (74th Amendment) Act,
channeled through statutory representative 1992—which laid down provisions for urban
bodies. local bodies—came into effect on June 1, 1993.
n However, in the true sense, the
Panchayati Raj system was first Today, by ensuring the social and
implemented in independent India political empowerment of the
on October 2, 1959, in Rajasthan— people across 260,000 Panchayats,
specifically in Nagaur, located 260 this system strengthens the very
kilometers from Jaipur. foundation of Indian democracy.
It comprises 24.24 Lakh elected
representatives, approximately 49.55
percent of whom are women.

of the Panchayati Raj system. This Panchayati Raj system 2020—an initiative that is today imparting fresh mo-
became an integral part of the Constitution following a mentum to the economic progress of rural India.
constitutional amendment enacted in 1992 and sub- Data from the Ministry of Finance’s Jan Suraksha
sequently implemented in 1993. Under the previous Portal indicates that, as of February 2026, loans amount-
regimes formal records for numerous rural households ing to approximately ₹1,680 crore have been disbursed
and land parcels across India were not systematically to 10,913 property cardholders. According to the Min-
maintained. In the absence of legal documentation, istry of Panchayati Raj, reports of significant success
individuals were unable to substantiate their ownership have been received from various states regarding the
claims, nor could they leverage their assets to secure utilization of property cards; specifically, beneficiaries of
bank loans or access government assistance. These the SVAMITVA Scheme have availed themselves of bank
anomalies of records stifled economic growth in rural loans—using their SVAMITVA cards as collateral—for
areas and gave rise to a multitude of land disputes. To purposes ranging from home construction and vehicle
address all these challenges, Prime Minister Narendra purchases to business expansion and the scaling up of
Modi launched the SVAMITVA Scheme on April 24, dairy enterprises. n

36 NEW INDIA SAMACHAR || April 16-30, 2026