Four Panchayati Raj-related initiatives out of 17 projects across seven award categories have been selected for the National Awards for e-Governance (NAeG) 2026 highlighting the growing role of Gram Panchayats in advancing digital governance and citizen-centric service delivery. This year’s awards will be conferred at the 29th National Conference on e-Governance, scheduled to be held in Jaipur, Rajasthan, on 1–2 July 2026. It is being jointly organized by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Government of Rajasthan, the Conference is themed “Viksit Bharat 2047: AI-Enabled, Data-Driven and Secure Digital Governance.” It reflects the Government’s commitment to leveraging emerging technologies, data-driven decision-making and robust cybersecurity frameworks to deliver efficient, secure and citizen-centric public services.

Out of the 17 projects and initiatives across 7 award categories, 10 are Gold Awards, 6 Silver Awards, and 1 Jury Award. The NAeG Awards, 2026 consist of: (i) Trophy, (ii) Certificate and (iii) an incentive of Rs 10 lakh for Gold Awardees and Rs 5 lakh for Silver Awardees for being utilized for implementation of project/program or bridging resources gaps in any area of public welfare. These four awards secured for Panchayati Raj-related initiatives are: a Ministry-level data analytics platform, two Gram Panchayats recognized for citizen service delivery and a district-level healthcare initiative. Together, they reflect the breadth and depth of digital transformation now taking root at the grassroots level of governance in India. The four awards are as follows:

The Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI), an initiative of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, has been conferred the Gold Award under the category Digital Transformation by Use of Data Analytics in Digital Platforms by Central Ministries/States/UTs. PAI is the Ministry’s flagship instrument for measuring and advancing the performance of Gram Panchayats across the country. It assesses Gram Panchayats on indicators aligned with the nine themes of Localized Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs), providing a granular and data-backed picture of governance outcomes at the village level. For more information on PAI Click Here. While Kadepur Gram Panchayat of Kadegaon Taluka, Sangli District, Maharashtra has won the Gold Award and Bijoy Nagar Gram Panchayat of Mohanpur Block, West Tripura District, Tripura has won the Silver Award under the category Grassroots-Level Initiatives by Gram Panchayats or Equivalent Traditional Local Bodies for Deepening/Widening of Service Delivery at the National Awards for e-Governance 2026.

The Kadepur Gram Panchayat has built an end-to-end digital governance ecosystem, delivering over 1,355 services fully online to more than 4,300 beneficiaries through a completely paperless e-Office, eight AI-powered administrative applications, Blockchain-enabled record management, and GIS-based property geo-tagging. Kadepur is also the only Gram Panchayat in the country with formally approved policies on Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, and Robotics. To know more CLICK HERE.

Bijoy Nagar Gram Panchayat presents an equally strong case grounded in participatory governance, financial accountability, and inclusive digital adoption. Its PAI 2.0 score of 88.55 (Grade A) reflects a 38 per cent improvement over PAI 1.0, and Own Source Revenue has grown by nearly 194 per cent. Over 100 services are delivered online through a fully functional e-Office; the Gram Barta platform enables real-time voice communication with every household; and 100 per cent digital literacy among women has been achieved. To know more CLICK HERE. Together, these two Gram Panchayats, one from Maharashtra and one from Tripura, demonstrate that excellence in local self-governance is neither regionally confined nor dependent on a single approach.

Zilla Parishad Nandurbar: Healthcare Transformed through e-Governance

The Health Department of Zilla Parishad Nandurbar, Maharashtra has won the Gold Award under the category District-Level Initiatives in e-Governance for its initiative e-Aarogya Dhamni (ई-आरोग्य धमनी): Transforming Healthcare through e-Governance, at the National Awards for e-Governance 2026. The initiative has deployed modern digital tools to extend fast, quality healthcare services to citizens in the tribal and remote areas of Nandurbar District, bringing governance closer to communities where the need for accessible and responsive public health delivery is most pressing. Know More about e-Aarogya Dhamni.

Background

The dedicated Gram Panchayat category under the National Awards for e-Governance (NAeG) was introduced following the Ministry of Panchayati Raj’s advocacy for recognizing online citizen services delivered at the grassroots level. The initiative has witnessed growing participation, with over 1.45 lakh entries from 26 States and Union Territories in NAeG 2025 and more than 1.65 lakh Gram Panchayats from 30 States participating in NAeG 2026, reflecting the Ministry’s sustained efforts in capacity building, handholding, and promoting digital governance across Panchayati Raj Institutions. The dedicated Gram Panchayat award category under NAeG was introduced for the first time at NAeG 2025. The NAeG 2025 awardees in the Gram Panchayat category were:

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