Bhubaneswar: Odisha appears to have emerged as a leader in grassroots governance as it bagged five National Panchayat Awards announced by the Union government on Saturday. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj informed that the award distribution ceremony will be held in New Delhi on June 3.
The government announced the winners of the National Panchayat Awards (NPA-2025), with 42 Panchayats from across the country being selected for the honours. Five of these Panchayats are from Odisha.
According to the Ministry, Karnataka has secured the highest number of awards with six Panchayats being selected, followed by Andhra Pradesh and Odisha with five awards each.
The awards are being conferred under two categories – the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar and the Nanaji Deshmukh Sarvottam Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar. The Deen Dayal Upadhyay awards recognise outstanding Gram Panchayats for their performance across themes linked to Sustainable Development Goals, including poverty-free livelihoods, health, water sufficiency, sanitation, women-friendly governance and social justice. A total of 34 Gram Panchayats from 17 States and Union Territories, including four from Odisha, have been selected under this category.
Under the Nanaji Deshmukh Sarvottam Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar, awards will be given to the best-performing Panchayats at the district, block and gram levels. Eight Panchayats have been selected under this category, including three district Panchayats, two block Panchayats and three Gram Panchayats. Ganjam district has been recognised as the second best zilla parishad in the country under this category.
The Ministry informed that the winning Panchayats will receive financial incentives ranging from 50 lakh rupees to five crore rupees, depending on the category and tier. The awards are being given under the Incentivization of Panchayats scheme of the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan.
The Ministry annually confers the National Panchayat Awards to recognize and incentivise best-performing Panchayats and promote inclusive, participatory, and sustainable development in rural India. These awards aim to encourage Panchayats to improve local governance, service delivery, and progress towards Sustainable Development Goals through community-led initiatives, reinforcing Panchayats’ role in translating national priorities towards Viksit Bharat 2047.