HYDERABAD
Sunil Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Panchayat Raj, said that the implementation of Panchayat Development Index (PDI) marks the beginning of journey towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in rural India. He pointed out that the panchayats being the nearest institutions to villagers, design and implement locally relevant policies aligned with SDGs for achieving sustainable development.
Delivering a key note address at a two-day workshop with ‘Young Fellows and State Programme Coordinators on Thematic GPDP & Panchayats Development Index’ held at the National Institute of Panchayat Raj and Rural Development (NIRDPR) here on Tuesday and Wednesday, he said PDI serves as a tool for bridging developmental gaps by monitoring progress at the gram panchayat-level. The PDI score, the thematic and indicator scores provide with clear growth trajectories across the nine themes of localisation of SDGs and enable targeted interventions in areas of need, allowing the panchayats to focus efforts and resources where they are most required, he said.
A. K. Bhanja, associate professor & head, Centre of Panchayati Raj, NIRDPR., said MoPR constituted an expert committee under the leadership of Jayashree Raghunandan to monitor the implementation of localisation of SDGs (LSDGs) through the PDI.
Chandra Shekhar Kumar, additional secretary, Tauqeer Khan, consultant, Vikas Anand, joint secretary and others participated in the workshop.
