What happened: Union Minister launches three OSR-focused Panchayat initiatives

The Union Minister of Panchayati Raj and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh, launched the Atmanirbhar Panchayat Programme and the SAMARTH Panchayat Portal, and released Model OSR (Own Source of Revenue) Rules for Panchayati Raj Institutions. The launch event was held at Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi, with key officials including Prof. S. P. Singh Baghel (Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj) and Shri Vivek Bharadwaj (Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj).

As part of the event, the Ministry also presented a Trophy and Certificate for the Gold Award under the National Awards for e-Governance (NAeG) 2026. The award was for the Ministry’s Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI) – Data Driven Governance for Viksit Bharat.

Atmanirbhar Panchayat Programme: turning local assets into bankable revenue projects

The Atmanirbhar Panchayat Programme is designed for Gram Panchayats and Block Panchayats to identify local assets and opportunities, and then develop them into revenue-generating projects that can attract financing for sustainable OSR. The programme uses technical support from the Ministry and supports financing through multiple routes: Public Private PartnershipsCorporate Social Responsibility (CSR) contributionsConvergence with other schemesBank finance supported through institutional partners

The programme sets a clear project-development target: 350 projects to be developed over four years50 projects in the first year100 projects in each of the next three years

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