V Kishore Chandra Deo, Minister of Panchayati Raj and Tribal Affairs, gave away the awards at a function which also saw the presence of Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh.
In his address, Deo said that "the accountability to the people and participation is a significant aspect of good governance and these gram sabhas and gram panchayats have set an example for the country."
The Minister said that "the 12th Plan will address the strengthening of panchayats in a holistic manner through the Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan (RGPSA)".
Deo also said that under the Thirteenth Finance Commission grant, funds have been made available to panchayats in an untied form through the Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF).
"BRGF has strengthened decentralised, grass-root level planning," Deo said.
Deo said that Panchayat Enterprise Suite (PES) has been developed under e-Panchayat scheme. The PES comprises of 11 applications that address all aspects of panchayat functioning.
The applications include Accounting Software (PRIA Soft), Plan Plus, National Panchayat Portal (NPP), Local Governance Directory (LGD), Service Plus, Asset Directory, Action Soft, Training Management, Social Audit and Area Profiler, he said. (More) PTI ADS
