Context: 

Recently, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj has launched the first ever Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI), a transformative tool to measure the progress of over 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats (GPs) across India.

About the Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI)

The Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI) aims at localizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by empowering India’s 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats to identify development gaps, set priorities, track progress, and measure their performance on key indicators for inclusive rural development. 

It is a powerful tool for evidence-based planning at the Panchayat level, utilizing identified development indicators for localization of the Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs).

It has been formulated based on 435 unique local indicators framework (LIF) across 9 themes aligned with the National Indicator Framework (NIF) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). 

It reflects India’s commitment to achieving the SDG 2030 Agenda through participatory, bottom-up development.

Panchayats were scored on a 0–100 scale and categorized as follows:

• Achiever: 90+
• Front Runner: 75 to <90
• Performer: 60 to <75
• Aspirant: 40 to <60
• Beginner: <40

State-wise Performance Overview (PAI 2022–23)

Gujarat led the country with 346 Gram Panchayats classified as Front Runners, followed by Telangana with 270. 

In terms of Performers, Gujarat also topped the list with 13,781 Panchayats, followed by Maharashtra (12,242), Telangana (10,099), Madhya Pradesh (7,912), and Uttar Pradesh (6,593). 

In contrast, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh have a significant number of Aspirant Gram Panchayats, highlighting the need for focused development interventions in these states.

Out of 2,55,699 total Gram Panchayats, 2,16,285 submitted validated data for the 2022–23 cycle. Among these:

• 699 Panchayats (0.3%) were categorized as Front Runners
• 77,298 (35.8%) as Performers
• 1,32,392 (61.2%) as Aspirants
• 5,896 (2.7%) at the Beginner level
• No Panchayat qualified as an Achiever As of now, no interstate comparisons have been formally conducted.