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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