Meri Panchayat” App Wins WSIS Champion Award 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland

India’s Digital Governance Model Gets Global Recognition at WSIS+20 High-Level Forum
Meri Panchayat App, WSIS Champion Award, Digital Governance, Panchayati Raj, Rural Development, Citizen Engagement, India Governance, WSIS 2025, Rajiv Ranjan Singh, NIC, e-Governance India

New Delhi, July 21, 2025: In a significant global recognition of India’s rural digital empowerment, the “Meri Panchayat” mobile app has been awarded the WSIS Prizes 2025 Champion Award under the Cultural Diversity, Identity & Local Content category. The honor was conferred at the WSIS+20 High-Level Event 2025, held in Geneva, Switzerland, organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in collaboration with UNESCO, UNDP, and UNCTAD.


The award was formally presented in New Delhi to Union Minister for Panchayati Raj, Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Lalan Singh), who hailed the app as a symbol of citizen-centric, transparent, and inclusive digital governance. Also present at the ceremony were MoS Prof. S.P. Singh Baghel, MoPR Secretary Vivek Bharadwaj, and senior officials from NIC and the Ministry.

Developed by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and NIC under MeitY, the “Meri Panchayat” app empowers:

  • 2.65 lakh Gram Panchayats

  • 25 lakh elected representatives

  • Over 950 million rural residents

The app provides real-time access to:

 Panchayat budgets, payments, and development plans
 Details of elected representatives and civic infrastructure
 Weather updates at the Gram Panchayat level
 Social audit reports, fund utilization, and grievance redressal
Geo-tagging and geo-fencing features for transparency
 Multilingual support in 12+ Indian languages

Most importantly, it enables participatory democracy by letting citizens propose, review, and rate local development projects and track Gram Sabha agendas and decisions.

At the Geneva forum, Ms. Sunita Jain, Senior Director, NIC/MoPR, received the award on behalf of India on July 10, marking a proud moment in the global information society landscape.

Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh emphasized the need to leverage such digital tools to bridge the knowledge divide, promote grassroots transparency, and ensure inclusive development in rural India.

 

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