The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has announced the winners of the National Panchayat Awards 2025 (NPA-2025), recognising outstanding Panchayats for excellence in local governance, sustainable development, and grassroots transformation.
A total of 42 Panchayats from different parts of the country have been selected for the awards. The award distribution ceremony will be held on 3 June 2026 in New Delhi.
Awards Under Two Major Categories
The National Panchayat Awards are presented under two key categories:
1. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar (DDUPSVP)
The Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar recognises outstanding Gram Panchayats for their achievements across the nine themes of Localization of Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs).
The nine themes include:
- Poverty-Free and Enhanced Livelihoods,
- Healthy Panchayat,
- Child-Friendly Panchayat,
- Water-Sufficient Panchayat,
- Clean and Green Panchayat,
- Self-Sufficient Infrastructure,
- Socially Just and Socially Secured Panchayat,
- Panchayat with Good Governance,
- and Women-Friendly Panchayat.
Awards are presented under Rank 1, Rank 2, and Rank 3 for each theme.
Under NPA-2025, 34 Gram Panchayats from 17 States and Union Territories have been selected under this category, including some joint winners.
The awards are linked to Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI) 2.0 scores, ensuring a transparent and data-driven evaluation process.
2. Nanaji Deshmukh Sarvottam Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar
The Nanaji Deshmukh Sarvottam Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar is awarded to the best-performing Panchayats on an overall basis at:
- District Panchayat level,
- Block Panchayat level,
- and Gram Panchayat level.
Under NPA-2025:
- 3 District Panchayats,
- 2 Block Panchayats,
- and 3 Gram Panchayats
have been selected as winners.
Financial Incentives for Winners
- Winning Panchayats will receive financial incentives ranging from ₹50 lakh to ₹5 crore depending on their category and level.
- Top-performing District Panchayats can receive awards of up to ₹5 crore, while the best-performing Gram Panchayats will receive a first prize of ₹1 crore.
- The awards are given under the Incentivization of Panchayats (IoP) component of the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme aimed at strengthening Panchayati Raj Institutions across India.
Special Categories Announced Earlier
Earlier, on the occasion of National Panchayati Raj Day 2025, Narendra Modi had conferred awards under special categories, including:
- Climate Action Special Panchayat Award (CASPA),
- Atma Nirbhar Panchayat Special Award (ANPSA),
- and Panchayat Kshamta Nirman Sarvottam Sansthan Puraskar (PKNSSP).
Promoting Grassroots Governance and Sustainable Development
The National Panchayat Awards are designed to encourage Panchayats to improve:
- local governance,
- service delivery,
- public participation,
- and sustainable rural development.
The Ministry of Panchayati Raj revamped the awards framework in 2023 by aligning it with the nine themes of Localization of Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs). This has made the evaluation system more holistic, transparent, and performance-oriented.
The initiative strengthens the role of Panchayats in translating national development priorities into effective grassroots action and contributes toward the vision of Viksit Bharat@2047.