Lok Sabha Question No. 2911 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-10
Subject: Panchayat Learning Centres
Ministry: PANCHAYATI RAJ
Asked by: Shri Darshan Singh Choudhary

## GOVERNMENTOF INDIA MINISTRY OF PANCHAYATI RAJ

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. † 2911

ANSWERED ON 10/03/2026

## PANCHAYAT LEARNING CENTRES

## †2911. SHRI DARSHAN SINGH CHOUDHARY:

## Will the Minister of PANCHAYATI RAJ be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government proposes to develop Gram Panchayats in the country as 'Panchayat Learning Centres' (PLCs) to strengthen capacity building, training and knowledge enhancement of local elected representatives, Panchayat personnel and rural citizens;
- (b) if so, the details of the framework prepared for establishing digital infrastructure, elearning facilities, training modules and resource centers in Panchayats under this initiative;
- (c) whether the training in respect of financial management, effective implementation of schemes, social audit, transparency and good governance is likely to be provided through these Panchayat Learning Centres, if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the Government has made provisions to link this initiative with the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) or other Centrally Sponsored Schemes; and
- (e) the details of the number of Panchayats developed or selected so far as PLCs in the country, district and State-wise?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF PANCHAYATI RAJ

## (SHRI RAJIV RANJAN SINGH ALIAS LALAN SINGH)

(a) to (d) The Ministry is implementing the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) w.e.f. financial year 2022-23 with the main objective of building the capacity of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) through imparting training to Elected Representatives (ERs) and other stakeholders of Panchayats, to develop their governance capabilities for leadership roles and to enable the Panchayats to function effectively. Apart from training interventions, under RGSA, the Ministry supplements the efforts of States/UTs on a limited scale by supporting the establishment of institutional mechanisms for capacity building and training, and by providing infrastructural support such as construction of Gram Panchayat Bhawans, procurement of computers, co-location of Common Service Centres (CSCs) in Gram Panchayat Bhawans, development of Panchayat Learning Centres (PLCs), etc.

Gram Panchayats with success stories/good practices or which have already shown exemplary work in identified themes for Local Sustainable Development Goals are developed as PLCs. The basic infrastructure in the PLCs is developed to facilitate exposure visits to showcase their initiatives and creation/establishment of digital libraries, etc. for strengthening capacity building and knowledge enhancement of elected representatives.

The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has developed a framework under the Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) for the establishment of Panchayat Learning Centres (PLCs) in selected well-performing Gram Panchayats as decentralized training and resource centres for capacity building and peer learning. The framework provides for the identification of beacon Panchayats and utilisation of existing Panchayat infrastructure and ICT facilities supported under RGSA on a limited scale. PLCs facilitate experiential and e-learning through exposure visits, demonstrations, documentation of best practices, preparation of learning materials, and structured training modules covering Panchayat governance processes, GPDP preparation, participatory planning, leadership, and local development initiatives. The Centres function as local knowledge hubs, enabling elected representatives and functionaries to learn through immersion-based training and sharing of good governance practices.

Under RGSA, support is provided for capacity building and training of elected representatives, Panchayat functionaries, and other stakeholders on planning, financial management, accounting, transparency, public service delivery, good governance practices, etc. The support for the training, as well as the venue of the training, however, is provided based on proposals submitted by States and approved by the Central Empowered Committee at the Central level.

(e) 1,152 Gram Panchayats have been developed as Panchayat Learning Centres (PLCs) under Revamped RGSA. The State-wise number of Gram Panchayats developed as PLCs is at Annexure . District-wise data is not maintained centrally.

## Annexure

## Annexure refer to in reply to Part (e) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. † 2911 to be answered on 10/03/2026 regarding Panchayat Learning Centres

## State/UT-wise number of Gram Panchayats developed as PLC under the Revamped RGSA(as on 28.02.2026)

| S. No.   | State             |   Total PLC developed |
|----------|-------------------|-----------------------|
| 1        | A&NIslands        |                     4 |
| 2        | Andhra Pradesh    |                     9 |
| 3        | Arunachal Pradesh |                     7 |
| 4        | Assam             |                    14 |
| 5        | Bihar             |                    10 |
| 6        | Chhattisgarh      |                     0 |
| 7        | DNHDD             |                     0 |
| 8        | Goa               |                     2 |
| 9        | Gujarat           |                     0 |
| 10       | Haryana           |                    24 |
| 11       | Himachal Pradesh  |                     3 |
| 12       | Jammu &Kashmir    |                    31 |
| 13       | Jharkhand         |                     0 |
| 14       | Karnataka         |                   234 |
| 15       | Kerala            |                    36 |
| 16       | Ladakh            |                     0 |
| 17       | Lakshadweep       |                     0 |
| 18       | Madhya Pradesh    |                   121 |
| 19       | Maharashtra       |                    79 |
| 20       | Manipur           |                     0 |
| 21       | Meghalaya         |                     0 |
| 22       | Mizoram           |                     7 |
| 23       | Nagaland          |                     2 |
| 24       | Odisha            |                   160 |
| 25       | Puducherry        |                     0 |
| 26       | Punjab            |                     9 |
| 27       | Rajasthan         |                    62 |
| 28       | Sikkim            |                    19 |
| 29       | Tamil Nadu        |                    36 |
| 30       | Telangana         |                     0 |
| 31       | Tripura           |                    35 |
| 32       | Uttarakhand       |                    81 |
| 33       | Uttar Pradesh     |                   156 |
| 34       | West Bengal       |                    11 |
| Total    | Total             |                  1152 |

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