The year 2025 marked a significant phase in the Ministry of Panchayati Raj’s sustained efforts to strengthen Panchayati Raj Institutions and enhance grassroots governance across rural India.
During the year, the Ministry implemented a wide range of initiatives focused on capacity building, training, digital governance, institutional strengthening and community participation across States and Union Territories. Emphasis remained on improving Panchayat-level planning and service delivery, empowering elected representatives, promoting women’s participation and fostering greater citizen engagement. Aligned with the Localization of Sustainable Development Goals and the vision of Viksit Bharat, these initiatives reinforced the central role of Panchayats in sustainable rural development.
1. Digital Outreach through OTT Platform for Mass Awareness
The Ministry undertook an initiative to leverage popular digital platforms for mass awareness on key issues relating to Panchayati Raj. “Fulera Ka Panchayati Raj”, a Hindi web series extension of the popular show/ web-series “Panchayat”, was developed to communicate important governance messages through an engaging entertainment format. The series has garnered over 40 million views on YouTube, with an additional 7.9 million views on the Ministry’s YouTube channel. All episodes were produced in Hindi with English subtitles for wider accessibility. Three episodes were released during the year 2025, each addressing critical aspects of Panchayati Raj, namely:
“Asli Pradhan Kaun?” – Released on 4 March, 2025, this episode promotes genuine leadership by Women Elected Representatives of Panchayats and highlights the issue of proxy representation.
“Alhua Vikas” – Released on 24 April, 2025, conveying the message of making Panchayats self-reliant by enhancing Own Sources of Revenue (OSR) through citizen participation
“Fulera Mein Chori” – Released on 12 March, 2025, demonstrating how digital services like Meri Panchayat App and SVAMITVA enable transparent and accessible governance
This innovative approach of using infotainment media for governance awareness marks a significant step in reaching millions of citizens, particularly youth, with important messages about participatory democracy and digital governance at the grassroots level.
SabhaSaar: AI-Powered Meeting Documentation
The Ministry launched SabhaSaar, an AI-powered meeting summarizer tool that automatically generates structured minutes from video or audio recordings of Gram Sabhas. Leveraging Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing, the tool supports 13 regional languages through AI-powered translation engines integrated with Bhashini, the Government's National Language Translation platform. As on 10th December 2025, 92,869 Gram Panchayats across 30 States/UTs have conducted 1,43,124 meetings and generated automated minutes using the SabhaSaar tool, significantly reducing documentation workload while enhancing transparency and accountability in local governance.
