Current Affairs

PANCHAYAT LEARNING CENTRES

PANCHAYAT LEARNING CENTRES

The Ministry is implementing the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) w.e.f. financial year 2022-23 with the main objective of building the capacity of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) through imparting training to Elected Representatives (ERs) and other stakeholders of Panchayats, to develop their governance capabilities for leadership roles and to enable the Panchayats to function effectively. Apart from training interventions, under RGSA, the Ministry supplements the efforts of States/UTs on a limited scale by supporting the establishment of institutional mechanisms for capacity building and training, and by providing infrastructural support such as construction of Gram Panchayat Bhawans, procurement of computers, co-location of Common Service Centres (CSCs) in Gram Panchayat Bhawans, development of Panchayat Learning Centres (PLCs), etc.

Gram Panchayats with success stories/good practices or which have already shown exemplary work in identified themes for Local Sustainable Development Goals are developed as PLCs. The basic infrastructure in the PLCs is developed to facilitate exposure visits to showcase their initiatives and creation/establishment of digital libraries, etc. for strengthening capacity building and knowledge enhancement of elected representatives.

The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has developed a framework under the Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) for the establishment of Panchayat Learning Centres (PLCs) in selected well-performing Gram Panchayats as decentralized training and resource centres for capacity building and peer learning. The framework provides for the identification of beacon Panchayats and utilisation of existing Panchayat infrastructure and ICT facilities supported under RGSA on a limited scale. PLCs facilitate experiential and e-learning through exposure visits, demonstrations, documentation of best practices, preparation of learning materials, and structured training modules covering Panchayat governance processes, GPDP preparation, participatory planning, leadership, and local development initiatives. The Centres function as local knowledge hubs, enabling elected representatives and functionaries to learn through immersion-based training and sharing of good governance practices.

Under RGSA, support is provided for capacity building and training of elected representatives, Panchayat functionaries, and other stakeholders on planning, financial management, accounting, transparency, public service delivery, good governance practices, etc. The support for the training, as well as the venue of the training, however, is provided based on proposals submitted by States and approved by the Central Empowered Committee at the Central level.

1,152 Gram Panchayats have been developed as Panchayat Learning Centres (PLCs) under Revamped RGSA. The State-wise number of Gram Panchayats developed as PLCs is at Annexure. District-wise data is not maintained centrally.

Annexure

 

State/UT-wise number of Gram Panchayats developed as PLC under the Revamped RGSA (as on 28.02.2026)

S. No.

State

Total PLC developed

1

A & N Islands

4

2

Andhra Pradesh

9

3

Arunachal Pradesh

7

4

Assam

14

5

Bihar

10

6

Chhattisgarh

0

7

DNHDD

0

8

Goa

2

9

Gujarat

0

10

Haryana

24

11

Himachal Pradesh

3

12

Jammu & Kashmir

31

13

Jharkhand

0

14

Karnataka

234

15

Kerala

36

16

Ladakh

0

17

Lakshadweep

0

18

Madhya Pradesh

121

19

Maharashtra

79

20

Manipur

0

21

Meghalaya

0

22

Mizoram

7

23

Nagaland

2

24

Odisha

160

25

Puducherry

0

26

Punjab

9

27

Rajasthan

62

28

Sikkim

19

29

Tamil Nadu

36

30

Telangana

0

31

Tripura

35

32

Uttarakhand

81

33

Uttar Pradesh

156

34

West Bengal

11

Total

1152

 

This information was given by Union Minister Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh in a written reply in Lok Sabha on 10th March 2026.

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