Meri Panchayat App
The Meri Panchayat mobile application gained international acclaim by winning the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Prizes 2025 Champion Award. This recognition came under the Action Line Category for Cultural Diversity and Identity, Linguistic Diversity and Local Content. The award was presented during the WSIS+20 High-Level Event 2025 held in Geneva, Switzerland. The event marked two decades since the original WSIS and focused on inclusive information societies worldwide. The app represents a major step forward in India’s digital governance and rural empowerment.
Background of Meri Panchayat App
Meri Panchayat is an m-Governance platform launched by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj in partnership with the National Informatics Centre (NIC). It serves over 2.65 lakh Gram Panchayats and empowers more than 25 lakh elected representatives. The app benefits nearly 950 million rural citizens by digitising governance and enhancing transparency at the grassroots level.
Features and Functionalities
The app offers real-time access to Panchayat budgets, receipts, payments, and development plans. It provides detailed information about elected representatives and Panchayat functionaries. Citizens can view public infrastructure data and civic services in their local Panchayat. The platform supports Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs) and tracks project proposals. It also includes weather forecasts at the Panchayat level, social audit tools, and fund utilisation data.
Inclusiveness and Language Support
Meri Panchayat supports over 12 Indian languages, ensuring accessibility for diverse linguistic groups. The multilingual interface promotes cultural and linguistic diversity. This inclusiveness helps bridge the digital divide in rural India and encourages wider citizen participation.
Enhancing Participatory Democracy
The app empowers citizens to propose new projects and review existing works. It allows rating of completed projects and access to Gram Sabha agendas and decisions. Geo-tagging and geo-fencing features enhance grievance redressal and monitoring of fund utilisation. These tools strengthen transparency and participatory governance at the village level.
International Recognition and Significance
The WSIS Prizes 2025 Champion Award marks the global excellence of India’s digital governance model. The award was received by Ms. Sunita Jain, Senior Director, NIC–MoPR, in Geneva. The recognition underlines the role of digital tools in promoting cultural identity, linguistic diversity, and local content. It also encourages further innovation in citizen-centric governance.
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