The e-Gram swaraj portal was launched on the official website egramswaraj.gov.in. ‘Sabka Saath, sab ka vikaas’, is what our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been and most likely will be heard saying repeatedly in his rallies, speeches and interviews as well as voting campaigns. With a view to making good on these words, he unveiled the e Gram swaraj portal on April 24, 2020 – the National Panchayati Raj Day. It is specifically designed for the Panchayats of the rural areas to monitor and assist in the completion of development projects.
Basically, how this gram swaraj portal works is the Panchayats are supposed to enter relevant information and obtain as output the various developmental projects going on in their area along with financial reports on expenditure and budget remaining. Along with the gram swaraj portal, the government has also released an e-gram swaraj app on mobiles. The e-gram swaraj app is supported on both Android and iOS devices.
Innovative Outlook via E-gram Swaraj
This innovative and bold move is seen as a hard punch against the government officers lacking in work ethics unless bribes are thrown their way. Likewise, this is a further simplification for the Panchayats and the government officers responsible for the development alike. This transparency has enabled that the Panchayats of rural areas can not only take an active part in the development planning of their villages and talukas but also monitor and make sure that the finance – the money spent on projects which are every taxpayer’s hard earnt money – is spent in the right way for the sole purpose of development of the country.
The gram swaraj portal and app will also imbue the rural citizens with a sense of confidence and assurance – a sense that the government is thinking about them, and is transparent enough to reveal numbers and statistics into the public domain for the sake of vikas.
Development, Digitalization, and transparency are three of the things that the Prime Minister has often preached and thus it comes as no surprise that a combination of all these has been used to facilitate growth and development of rural areas. The move will ensure the strengthening of e-governance in PRIs (Panchayati Raj Institutions) across the country.
This gram swaraj portal was designed by the National Informatics Center (NIC) by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. Its description on the portal reads ‘Simplified Work-Based Accounting Application’. For those of you who ironically don’t find the explanation simplified enough, let me tell you in detail what the e Gram swaraj portal is built to do.
Fixed Lifesycle of E-gram Swaraj Portal
The above picture, taken from the government’s website itself explains the functions of the gram swaraj portal in a nutshell.
Gram Panchayat Profiling refers to the creation of accounts of all Gram Panchayats. As of writing this, 65967 accounts have been created and the updated number can be found on the official website. Action plan creation and activity output refer to the initiation and beginning of the development in a particular area. Progress reporting and all following steps come into the picture when the Gram Panchayats wish to analyze, assist in, or monitor said development projects in their area.
Below you can see the latest updates on account creation, approval, and other steps, courtesy the official website.
If the gram swaraj portal does all this, what does the e-gram swaraj app do, and how does it work? The e-gram swaraj app works on similar lines.
Users’ Base Increasing in E-gram Swaraj
The e-gram swaraj app requires users to enter their state, district Panchayat, block panchayat, and village panchayat. Once they do, they are taken to the results page where they can get the reports as they would on the online portal. The e-gram swaraj app also lets the users login and register as Gram Panchayats.
Every registered Gram Panchayat account must be approved as a legitimate account before they can be taken to the screen meant for advanced reports for the gram panchayats. The basic information can be accessed by anyone, even those that do not live in rural areas.
So that’s all information on the e Gram swaraj portal and the e-gram swaraj app. This looks like a great step towards leading India on the journey to becoming a developed nation. The road looks far, but does the path seem right? Do you think the development of rural areas will become a reality? Do you think digitalization will be possible for villagers or perhaps citizens of less developed areas?
After all, one cannot expect all villagers and rural area citizens to be competent in using computers…Some don’t even have smartphones for that matter. The decision may sound good and innovative but, is it is target-audience appropriate? Time will tell. For now, have your say in the comments section down below and let us know what you think about it.