The Ministry of Panchayati Raj organized Virtual Outreach Workshops under the Atmanirbhar Panchayat program on 13^th and 14^th July 2026, bringing together participants from seven States namely, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. The workshop familiarized participants with the vision, objectives and implementation framework for strengthening financially self-reliant Panchayats through enhanced Own Source Revenue (OSR). In his message to the participants Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Shri Vivek Bharadwaj, called upon Panchayati Raj Institutions to harness local resources and innovative ideas to build sustainable revenue streams. He emphasized that financially empowered Panchayats are the foundation of Viksit Bharat. Assuring participants of the Ministry's continued technical guidance and support to help Panchayats convert such ideas into successful, self-sustaining projects while taking confident steps towards financial self-reliance.

The Atmanirbhar Panchayat Program, anchored by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj under the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA), aims to promote the financial self-reliance of Panchayats by strengthening their Own Source Revenue (OSR). Under the program, through a transparent national challenge process, Panchayats are invited to submit ideas for innovative revenue-generating projects rooted in local strengths that put idle assets and untapped local opportunities to productive use. Gram Panchayats with a minimum OSR of Rs. 50 lakh and Block Panchayats with a minimum OSR of Rs. 1 crore, both with at least three years of tenure remaining, are eligible to apply. Selected proposals receive technical support to be developed into bankable projects, with funding facilitated through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), bank finance and convergence with government schemes. NABARD and HUDCO are the program's institutional partners, providing project development and financial facilitation support.  During the workshops, participants were encouraged to identify local opportunities for sustainable revenue generation. The sessions also included presentations by NABARD and HUDCO, an overview of the program guidelines, a live demonstration of the Atmanirbhar Panchayat Portal, and an interactive question-and-answer session to enable participants to gain a comprehensive understanding of the program and its implementation framework.

With this, the outreach of the Atmanirbhar Panchayat Program now stands expanded to ten States across the country, following earlier in-person and hybrid workshops held in Hyderabad (Telangana, 2 May 2026), Gandhinagar (Gujarat, 9 June 2026) and Kochi (Kerala, 7 July 2026). With outreach now extended to ten States, namely Telangana, Gujarat, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, the Ministry invites eligible Panchayats across the country to seize the opportunity and come forward with their innovative ideas to join the movement towards a financially self-reliant, Atmanirbhar Panchayat for Viksit Bharat.

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