2.42 lakh Special Gram Sabhas held on Gandhi Jayanti
More than 2.42 lakh Special Gram Sabhas were held across India on Gandhi Jayanti, giving rural citizens a direct platform to discuss Government schemes that affect their daily lives, from a guaranteed 125 days of annual wage employment to piped drinking water, digital land records and consumer protection helplines.
The Gram Sabhas, scheduled on the GPDP Portal and Panchayat NIRNAY Portal, marked the start of the People’s Plan Campaign 2026-27, “Sabki Yojana, Sabka Vikas,” under which Panchayats will prepare their Development Plans for 2027-28. Local residents, elected representatives, Panchayat functionaries and officials actively participated, with schemes from seven central ministries and departments placed at the centre of discussions.
On employment, the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission, Gramin, in force since July 1, 2026, guarantees 125 days of wage employment every financial year to eligible rural households, verified through Face Authentication with digital payments. So far, more than 31.69 crore person-days have been generated, benefiting over 2.81 crore workers from around 2.23 crore households, with works under way in nearly 2.31 lakh Gram Panchayats. An interim allocation of Rs 93,841 crore has been made to states and union territories for 2026-27.
On drinking water, rural tap connections under the Jal Jeevan Mission have risen from about 3.23 crore households, 17 percent, to more than 16 crore households, over 80 percent. Under the Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen, 12.22 crore household toilets have been built, and over 5.25 lakh villages, 89.6 percent, have declared themselves Open Defecation Free Plus.
On water conservation, more than 1.55 crore artificial recharge and storage structures have been built through community participation under Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari, Catch the Rain, with an impact study estimating groundwater recharge of 2.43 billion cubic metres in its first phase. Watershed development funding has been raised to Rs 22,000 per hectare in plain areas and Rs 28,000 in hilly areas, with the project period cut from seven to five years.
On food security, One Nation One Ration Card facilitates about 3.27 crore portability transactions every month, while the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana provides free foodgrains to up to 81.35 crore beneficiaries, extended until 2028. The National Consumer Helpline, available in 17 languages, received 3,42,371 calls in August 2026, compared to 78,477 in August 2019, and has facilitated refunds exceeding Rs 105 crore since April 2025.
On land records, under the Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme, 99.90 percent of Records of Rights and 97.4 percent of cadastral maps have been digitised. Citizens in 31 states and union territories can now access land records online, with 24 states and union territories allowing download of digitally signed records.
