Agricultural and rural economies in India are being shaped by technology breakthroughs, due to the Narendra Modi government’s skillful implementation of transformational technological interventions during the last few years. With the development of various scientific instruments such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) operated precision farming Other disease-resistant varieties of equipment, drones, new ways of irrigating crops, and breeding, among others, have farming-related activities becoming much more efficient, resulting in increased production and, ultimately, increased farmer income, which is the government’s goal.
Technology is rapidly transforming the face of villages as a result of major changes in the way they are farmed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stated that leveraging the potential of technology for the wellbeing of people is at the heart of our good governance initiatives in India’s villages. The Prime Minister cited the SVAMITVA scheme as an example of a successful program.
SVAMITVA Scheme
The Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) is executing the Central Sector Scheme SVAMITVA The goal of providing a “Record of Rights” to village homeowners who own homes in populated regions. Drone technology is used to map land parcels and award legal ownership rights in the form of Property Cards / Title deeds. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj, the State Revenue Department, the State Panchayati Raj Department, and the Survey of India (SoI) are working together to execute it. For the scheme to be implemented, states must sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the SoI. So far, 29 states have signed MoUs with the SoI, including Rajasthan. By March 2025, the scheme hopes to have all of the covered communities covered.
eGramSwaraj
eGramSwaraj, a simplified work-based accounting tool for Panchayati Raj, has been designed to promote e-Governance in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). It combines the functionality of all programs under the e-Panchayat Mission Mode Project (MMP). The e-FMS apps are merged into eGramSwaraj, which includes numerous modules such as GP profile, which keeps track of panchayat profile information such as election results, elected members, and committee information. Panchayat planning makes it easier to plan activities and create action plans. Physical progress, on the other hand, keeps track of the physical and budgetary progress of possible activities. Financial progress makes work-based accounting and fund monitoring easier. The Panchayat’s asset directory contains information on all of the Panchayat’s immovable and movable assets.
Citizen Charter Document
The Ministry has provided a platform to upload Citizen Charter document, https://panchayatcharter.nic.in/, with the slogan “Meri Panchayat Mera Adhikaar – Jan Sevaayein Hamaare Dwaar” in order to focus on the commitment of the Panchayati Raj Institutions ( PRIs) towards respect for the standard of services, information, choice and consultation, non-discrimination and accessibility, grievance redresses it includes the organization’s expectations of citizens fulfilling the terms of the organization.
Social Audit
The use of grants and their consequences by RLBs may be monitored through social audit, which is an essential tool. Social audit The field is compiling reality data into official papers and debuting the results in a public forum like Gram Sabha. The social audit process goes beyond simply determining funds for accounting or whether they were spent properly. It also examines the consequences of material differences in terms of people’s lives as a result of such spending.
COVID-19 Dashboard
Until now, India’s fight against COVID-19 has demonstrated the need of implementing data-driven COVID-19 management techniques, especially in rural areas where there is a lack of knowledge about COVID-19 management may significantly impede pandemic control. In light of the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, MoPR and NIC established the COVID-19 Dashboard on June 18, 2021, with the goal of improving COVID-19 management in rural regions. GPs with VHNSC, GPs participating in IEC programs on COVID-19 awareness, volunteers enrolled, frontline workers enrolled, GPs with isolation centers, and so on are all tracked on the dashboard. This dashboard will be a valuable tool for state and central governments implementing localized policy interventions to guarantee resource optimization.
AuditOnline
The XV FC has mandated that the audited reports of panchayat finances must be made accessible to the public domain as an eligibility condition as part of important institutional reform. In this end, MoPR developed a “AuditOnline” program conducting online audits of Panchayat accounts relevant to the Central Finance Commission Grants. It not only makes account auditing easier, but it also has the ability to keep digital audit records for recently completed audits. This program streamlines audit processes such as audit enquiries, generate local audit reports, generate audit paras, and so on.
Smart Vending E-Cart
In order to use technology for rural development, MoPR has cooperated with the Government of India’s Chief Scientific Advisor, the Department of Science and Technology, and six IITs to build a Smart Vending Cart for use by rural vendors. The IIT Bombay-designed Smart Vending E-Cart has been shown and confirmed to be suitable for use by vendors and small companies in the rural, peri-urban, and farm sectors.
Dissemination Of Information
Bulk SMSes, social media platforms, and WhatsApp groups were used to communicate pertinent information about the government’s key campaigns, initiatives, and activities among Panchayati Raj institutions and other stakeholders.
First published on: 27 Apr 2022, 10:58 IST