Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday interacted with Sarpanchs from across the nation on the occasion of Panchayati Raj Day. PM Narendra Modi also launched e-Gram Swaraj & Swamitva Yojana, two web portals for accelerating the pace of development in India’s villages.

The eGram Swaraj app will provide panchayats a single interface to complete development projects. The app will help in accelerating projects in villages from planning to completion.

Further elaborating on the e-Gram Swaraj portal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that it is a step towards complete digitisation of Gram Panchayats and in future, it will become the single platform which will keep the records of all the works taken up by the Gram Panchayats.

Swamitva Yojana will use drones in mapping of properties in villages. This will help in reducing disputes over property. The portal will help in making it easier for villagers to avail loans from banks.

The Prime Minister interacted with Gram Panchayats from across the country on the Panchayati Raj Day.

The Prime Minister lauded the efforts of villagers in maintaining social distancing and said that it is because of their efforts that the world is taking note of India’s response to coronavirus.

“With its simple mantra of Do Gaz Ki Doori (maintaining distance of two yards), rural India has described social distancing in simple words, villages have showcased the best of their principles, traditional values to fight coronavirus,” Modi, who had covered his face with a ‘gamcha’ while interacting with gram panchayat members via video conference, said.

The coronavirus pandemic has taught us to become self-reliant. Without being self-reliant, it will be difficult to sustain. Each village, district and whole of India will have to learn to become self-reliant and not depend on others.

Strong Panchayats are the building blocks for a stronger democracy and will help in delivering the benefits of growth to the last mile.

The Prime Minister said that the broadband connectivity has reached more than 1.25 lakh panchayats and the Common Services Centre in villages have crossed 3 lakh.

Also Read: Sunlight, Heat, Humidity may Help Kill Coronavirus: U.S. Official