Context:
National Panchayat Awards 2024 were awarded to 45 Panchayats across India by the President of India
National Panchayat Awards:
- Commemorate the enactment of 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992, which gave Panchayats constitutional status as local self-governance institutions.
- Usually presented on April 24th, National Panchayati Raj Day.
- Objective – To encourage best practices, foster a spirit of competition, and motivate Panchayats to excel in providing quality governance and services to rural communities.
- 9 thematic areas used for assessment –
- Poverty-Free and Enhanced Livelihoods Panchayat
- Healthy Panchayat
- Child-Friendly Panchayat
- Water-Sufficient Panchayat
- Clean and Green Panchayat
- Self-Sufficient Infrastructure in Panchayat
- Socially Just and Secured Panchayat
- Panchayat with Good Governance
- Women-Friendly Panchayat
- Categories of Awards –
- Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar (DDUPSVP): Awarded to the top three Gram Panchayats (GPs) under each of the nine LSDGs themes.
- Nanaji Deshmukh Sarvottam Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar: Given to the top three GPs, Block Panchayats, and District Panchayats for overall excellence across all themes.
- Gram Urja Swaraj Vishesh Panchayat Puraskar: Recognizes GPs for their adoption of renewable energy.
- Carbon Neutral Vishesh Panchayat Puraskar: Awards GPs for achieving net-zero carbon emissions.
- Panchayat Kshamta Nirmaan Sarvottam Sansthan Puraskar: Honors institutions that support Panchayats in implementing LSDGs
Source: PIB
Previous Year Question
Local self-government can be best explained as an exercise in
[UPSC Civil Service Exam – 2017 Prelims]
(a) Federalism
(b) Democratic decentralisation
(c) Administrative delegation
(d) Direct democracy
Answer: (b)
