The Ministry of Panchayati Raj will organise a two-day national workshop on best practices of Model Women-Friendly Gram Panchayats at the Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration (YASHADA) in Pune on January 8 and 9, officials said on Monday.
The workshop, being held in collaboration with the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department of the Maharashtra government, aims to strengthen gender equality and women’s empowerment at the grassroots by sharing best practices and building the capacity of Gram Panchayats.
Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Panchayati Raj Sushil Kumar Lohani will inaugurate the event in the presence of Maharashtra Principal Secretary for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Eknath Rajaram Dawale, YASHADA Director General Niranjan Kumar Sudhansu, Ministry Director Vipul Ujwal, and UNFPA India Chief for Programmes and Technical Support Dr Deepa Prasad.
Around 240 participants from 13 States and Union Territories — Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Telangana — will attend. Participants include elected representatives, secretaries of best-performing Model Women-Friendly Gram Panchayats, Block Development Officers, Directors of State Institutes of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, and State Nodal Officers.
The workshop will focus on five thematic areas: participation in governance, health and nutrition, education and skill development, access to economic opportunities, and safety and security. Best-performing Gram Panchayats will present their practices through presentations and panel discussions, while participants will receive training on dashboard indicators and portal features for monitoring progress.
The programme is part of the Model Women-Friendly Gram Panchayats initiative launched by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj on March 5, 2025, to establish at least one women- and girl-friendly Gram Panchayat in every district. Under Theme 9 of the Localization of Sustainable Development Goals, 744 Gram Panchayats across 32 States and Union Territories have been identified, with their progress tracked through a dedicated dashboard featuring 35 indicators across six sub-themes.
