Atmanirbhar Panchayat Programme, SAMARTH Portal & Model OSR Rules Launched to Strengthen Panchayati Raj Institutions

📌 Summary:

• Union Panchayati Raj Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Lalan Singh) launched the Atmanirbhar Panchayat Programme, SAMARTH Panchayat Portal and released Model OSR (Own Source of Revenue) Rules at Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi
• Aim: build financially empowered, technologically enabled and self-reliant Panchayats aligned with Viksit Bharat @2047; all three initiatives echo the 16th Finance Commission's push to strengthen Panchayat Own Source Revenue
• Atmanirbhar Panchayat Programme converts local Gram/Block Panchayat assets into bankable, revenue-generating projects with Ministry technical support; financed via PPP, CSR, scheme convergence and bank finance, with NABARD and HUDCO as institutional partners
• Scale: 350 projects over four years (50 in year one, 100 in each of the next three); eligibility — Gram Panchayats with minimum OSR of Rs. 50 lakh and Block Panchayats with Rs. 1 crore, each with 3+ years tenure left; relaxed thresholds for special-category States
• SAMARTH Portal: a first-of-its-kind unified, configurable national platform to digitally manage the full OSR lifecycle — taxpayer registration, demand generation, online payments, collection and real-time monitoring
• Model OSR Rules provide a guiding framework for States to strengthen Panchayat revenues; Ministry also received the Gold Award under National Awards for e-Governance 2026 for the Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI)

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 — local self-government, fiscal decentralisation, 73rd Amendment, Finance Commission and grassroots governance

📝 Prelims Facts:

• OSR = Own Source of Revenue of Panchayats; SAMARTH = digital OSR-management portal
• 350 projects planned over 4 years; NABARD & HUDCO are institutional partners
• Ministry won Gold Award (NAeG 2026) for Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI)

🔑 Key Term: Own Source of Revenue (OSR) — revenue Panchayats raise themselves (taxes, fees, local assets), central to fiscal self-reliance of local bodies.