Cabinet approves PM Viksit Gram Swaraj Yojana to strengthen Panchayat governance
The Union Cabinet on 28 October 2026 approved a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Gram Swaraj Yojana (PM VGSY), for Panchayat planning, capacity building and audits from 2026-27 to 2030-31. Its outlay is Rs 7,395.55 crore. The Government counts about 32 lakh elected representatives in over 2.55 lakh Panchayats and Traditional Local Bodies as direct beneficiaries.
Syllabus: GS2 · Federalism & Local Government; Prelims · Polity & Governance; GS2 · Government Policies
Why this matters for UPSC
GS2, Panchayati Raj and devolution up to local levels: Prelims can ask about Part IX, Article 243G, the Eleventh Schedule and a scheme's period and funding; Mains, about Panchayat capacity, planning and own revenue.
Why it matters
A sarpanch often has Finance Commission money in hand but little help in deciding how to use it, and departments plan their own schemes without asking the village. This scheme tries to change that by putting every department's plans for a village on one screen, training elected members to read them, and pushing Panchayats to raise and audit their own money. If it works, a Gram Sabha could see which roads, water lines or schools are already funded and press for what is missing. It belongs to a larger question: whether Panchayats become real governments of their villages or stay agents of schemes run from above.
Prelims pointers
- Article 243B: Panchayats at village, intermediate and district levels; a State with population not exceeding twenty lakh may skip the intermediate level.
- Article 243D reserves seats for SCs and STs in proportion to population, and not less than one-third of seats and Chairperson offices for women.
- Article 243-I: the Governor constitutes a State Finance Commission every fifth year to review Panchayat finances.
- Article 280(3)(bb): the Union Finance Commission recommends measures to augment a State's Consolidated Fund to supplement Panchayat resources.
- Article 243H: State law may authorise Panchayats to levy, collect and appropriate taxes, duties, tolls and fees.
- Article 243J: the State Legislature provides by law for the maintenance and audit of Panchayat accounts.
- Article 243E: every Panchayat has a five-year term from the date appointed for its first meeting.
Practise a UPSC-style question
With reference to Part IX of the Constitution of India, consider the following statements:
1. Part IX was inserted by the Constitution (Seventy-fourth Amendment) Act, 1992.
2. Article 243G lets a State Legislature devolve to Panchayats schemes on matters listed in the Eleventh Schedule.
3. A Gram Sabha consists of persons registered in the electoral rolls of a village within the Panchayat area.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- (c) 1 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Show the answer
Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only
Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only. Part IX came with the 73rd Amendment, not the 74th.
Statement 1: incorrect. Part IX comes from the Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act, 1992; Article 243N keeps older Panchayat laws in force only until a year after that Act's commencement.
Statement 2: correct. Article 243G allows State law to devolve planning and schemes to Panchayats, including those on the Eleventh Schedule's 29 matters.
Statement 3: correct. Article 243(b) defines the Gram Sabha as the persons on the electoral rolls of a village in the Panchayat area.
Eliminate: Statement 1 is wrong, since Part IX is the 73rd Amendment's work. Out: (a), (c), (d).
Trap: Look-alike names. The question swaps the 73rd Amendment for the next number, the 74th.
Remember: Part IX (Panchayats) dates from the 73rd Amendment; Article 243G ties it to the Eleventh Schedule.
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