Lok Sabha Question No. 4179 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-19
Subject: Model Women-Friendly Gram Panchayats
Ministry: PANCHAYATI RAJ
Asked by: Shri Ashish Dubey, Shri Dulu Mahato, Dr. Hemang Joshi, Shri Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, Dr. Lata Wankhede, Smt. Himadri Singh, Smt. Mahima Kumari Mewar, Ms Kangna Ranaut, Shri Jagdambika Pal, Shri Alok Sharma, Smt. Shobhanaben Mahendrasinh Baraiya

## GOVERNMENTOF INDIA MINISTRY OF PANCHAYATI RAJ

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. † 4179

ANSWERED ON 19/08/2025

## MODELWOMEN-FRIENDLYGRAMPANCHAYATS

†4179. SMT. HIMADRI SINGH:

SHRI VISHWESHWAR HEGDE KAGERI:

SHRI ALOK SHARMA:

SHRI JAGDAMBIKA PAL:

SMT. MAHIMAKUMARI MEWAR:

SHRI DULU MAHATO:

SMT. SHOBHANABEN MAHENDRASINH BARAIYA:

MSKANGNARANAUT:

DR. HEMANG JOSHI:

DR. LATA WANKHEDE:

SHRI ASHISH DUBEY:

Will the Minister of PANCHAYATI RAJ be pleased to state:

- (a) the main objectives of the Model Women-Friendly Gram Panchayats (MWFGP) initiative;
- (b) the current status of progress of implementation of the MWFGP initiative including the number of Gram Panchayats identified and the status of development of key performance indicator-based dashboard for monitoring, State-wise;
- (c) the manner in which MWFGP Panchayats are proposed to be selected and developed in each district of the country, State-wise and the total number of Gram Panchayats identified under Shahdol Lok Sabha Constituency in Madhya Pradesh;
- (d) the details of capacity building and training framework under the MWFGP, State-wise;
- (e) the steps being taken by the Government to ensure effective participation of women representatives in workshops and follow-up initiatives, State-wise;
- (f) the manner in which it is being ensured that the outcomes of these workshops pave the way for the long-term policy changes at the ground level, State-wise;
- (g) whether there is any mechanism for elected women representatives to share best practices and experiences across State to promote women led governance in a collaboration approach and if so, the details thereof; and
- (h) the nature and scope of collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in the design, implementation and monitoring of the MWFGP initiative in the country, State and UT wise?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR PANCHAYATI RAJ

(PROF. S.P. SINGH BAGHEL)

(a) to (c) Under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA), the Ministry is undertaking capacity building of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) through training of Elected Representatives (ERs), including Women Elected Representatives (WERs), functionaries, and other stakeholders to strengthen their leadership and governance capabilities.

As part of this effort, the Ministry launched the Sashakt Panchayat Netri Abhiyan during the National Workshop held on 4 -5 March 2025 in New Delhi to empower Women Panchayat Leaders with knowledge and skills on various aspects of rural governance. The campaign also saw the launch of the Model Women Friendly Gram Panchayat (MWFGP) initiative. The MWFGP initiative aims to create an inclusive and gender-sensitive local governance system that ensures women ' s participation, safety, rights, and empowerment at the grassroots level. In line with the broader objective of saturating all Gram Panchayats in the country across all nine themes of the Localization of Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs), States/UTs have been guided to commence with Theme 9: Women Friendly Panchayat, by identifying one Gram Panchayat in each district for transformation into a MWFGP. These Gram Panchayats will act as learning centres for replication of the interventions made by them among other Gram Panchayats subsequently.

So far 742 Gram Panchayats have been identified as MWFGPs by 32 States/UTs. To monitor progress, the Ministry has developed a MWFGP Dashboard with 41 indicators under six broad sub-themes: Participation in Governance; Education & Skill Development; Access to Economic Opportunities; Health & Nutrition; Safety & Security; and Advocacy against Harmful Practices. States/UTs have been trained on dashboard functionalities to ensure accurate and quality data entry, with baseline data creation currently underway. In Shahdol Lok Sabha Constitutency in Madhya Pradesh, total 4 Gram Panchayats namely Dholar in Shahdol Districts; Khoka Gram Panchayat in Annupur, Ghangri Gram Panchayat in Umaria and Tewari Gram Panchayat in Katni Districts have been identified as MWFGP. State/UT-wise details are at Annexure I.

(d) & (e) For capacity building under MWFGP, training modules and learning materials on women friendly Gram Panchayat have been developed and shared with States/UTs. A cadre of 310 State Level Master Trainers has been trained between November 2024 and February 2025. Subsequently, States/UTs have organised training for Sarpanches/Presidents/Pradhans, Secretaries, and other MWFGP stakeholders in State Institutes of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj (SIRDs), covering various features of MWFGP; role of Gram Panchayat in their transformation and integration of women-friendly measures into Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs).

To ensure effective participation of Elected Women Representatives (EWRs) in these trainings and workshops, the Government works in close coordination with State Governments and institutions such as SIRDs, providing regular follow-up, review meetings, and necessary logistical support to facilitate their engagement.

(f) & (g) Model Women Friendly Gram Panchayat are being developed as beacon Panchayats, demonstrating exemplary practices in gender-sensitive governance and actively promotes the empowerment, participation, safety, and rights of women at the grassroots level. These Best

Practices are replicated in other Gram Panchayats through capacity building efforts; exposure visits and integration into local policy frameworks.

Elected Women Representatives also share best practices and experiences across State/UT through workshops, training sessions, exposure visits, and conventions, fostering a collaborative approach to women led governance. The Ministry further incentivizes innovative and exemplary practices undertaken by WER under various components of Women Led Development.

(h) The Ministry has collaborated with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) as the knowledge partner for MWFGP. UNFPA has supported the development of training modules, training of Master Trainers, and provision of technical inputs to build the capacity of Elected Representatives and Panchayati Raj Functionaries, thereby strengthening the design. implementation, and monitoring of MWFGPs across States/UTs.

***

## Annex refer to in reply to Part (a) to (c) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 4179 to be answered on 19/08/2025

## List of Gram Panchayats selected for developing them as Model Women Friendly Gram Panchayat (State/UT wise)

| S.No   | State/UT                                 |   Total No. of Districts |   Total No. of MWGPs |
|--------|------------------------------------------|--------------------------|----------------------|
| 1      | Andaman &Nicobar                         |                        3 |                    2 |
| 2      | Andhra Pradesh                           |                       26 |                   26 |
| 3      | Arunachal Pradesh                        |                       27 |                   27 |
| 4      | Assam                                    |                       35 |                   27 |
| 5      | Bihar                                    |                       38 |                   38 |
| 6      | Chattigarh                               |                       33 |                   27 |
| 7      | Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu |                        3 |                    3 |
| 8      | Goa                                      |                        2 |                    2 |
| 9      | Gujarat                                  |                       33 |                   33 |
| 10     | Haryana*                                 |                       22 |                   23 |
| 11     | Himachal Pradesh                         |                       12 |                   12 |
| 12     | Jammu &Kashmir                           |                       20 |                   20 |
| 13     | Jharkhand*                               |                       24 |                   34 |
| 14     | Karnataka                                |                       31 |                   31 |
| 15     | Kerala                                   |                       14 |                   14 |
| 16     | Ladakh                                   |                        2 |                    2 |
| 17     | Madhya Pradesh                           |                       55 |                   55 |
| 18     | Maharashtra                              |                       36 |                   34 |
| 19     | Manipur                                  |                       16 |                   16 |
| 20     | Meghalaya                                |                       12 |                   12 |
| 21     | Mizoram                                  |                       11 |                   11 |
| 22     | Nagaland                                 |                       17 |                   16 |
| 23     | Odisha                                   |                       30 |                   30 |
| 24     | Punjab                                   |                       23 |                   23 |
| 25     | Rajasthan                                |                       41 |                   33 |
| 26     | Sikkim                                   |                        6 |                    6 |
| 27     | Tamil Nadu                               |                       38 |                   37 |
| 28     | Telangana                                |                       33 |                   31 |
| 29     | Tripura                                  |                        8 |                    8 |
| 30     | Uttarakhand                              |                       13 |                   13 |
| 31     | Uttar Pradesh                            |                       75 |                   75 |
| 32     | West Bengal                              |                       23 |                   21 |
|        | Total                                    |                      762 |                  742 |