Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today highlighted the central role of villages in realising the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. Addressing the Rashtriya Gramin Vikas Sammelan in New Delhi, Mr Chouhan said a provision of over 1.51 lakh crore rupees, including the States’ share, has been made under the Viksit Bharat Grameen Scheme to accelerate rural development while ensuring livelihood security for rural workers. He added that Panchayats will continue to receive substantial financial support to further strengthen grassroots governance and empower rural communities.

The Minister said that more than 10 crore women have been linked to Self-Help Groups under the National Rural Livelihoods Mission, strengthening women-led development and rural entrepreneurship. Referring to the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, Mr Chouhan said the flagship programme has significantly improved road connectivity and infrastructure in villages across the country. He also invited suggestions and innovative ideas from the States to further strengthen the implementation of rural development programmes and ensure the holistic development of villages.

On the occasion, the Minister launched the Rural Internal Audit Portal, a unified digital platform for end-to-end management of internal audits covering both risk-based and compliance audits. The Ministry of Rural Development said the portal aims to digitise and streamline the entire internal audit process by creating a centralised repository of audit units, audit observations, action taken reports, and audit records. The Ministry added that the platform will continue to evolve by leveraging emerging technologies to further strengthen governance and accountability.